Across Time
by A'Rion Larent
Summary: A girl falls from the sky, crash landing in front of the L-Corp building, creating a massive, inconvenient crater while she's at it. The half blonde, half brunette with pale green eyes tinged with blue is a mystery to the three women who take her in for questioning at the DEO. Alex is frustrated, Kara is concerned and Lena is utterly perplexed. Supercorp! Time Traveling fun.
1. Chapter 1

_A/N: Soooo I started writing and this is what somehow came out. I've been working on my other fics as well, but sometimes an idea gets stuck and all I can do is write it all out in order to move on with my other stuff. Anyways, hope you enjoy this little twist of time. Fair warning, this fic can get a little dark, but hopefully I'm not as sadistic of a writer as I think I am. _

_Enjoy! _

_Disclaimer: I own nothing... periodt. _

**Chapter 1: Wrong Timing**

She rolled her eyes as the woman in the red skirt leered down at her. She had accidentally created a crater nearly 3 miles in diameter at the center of national city. It wasn't exactly her fault that her body had throttled a few coordinates shy of her intended crash site. In fact if there was anyone to blame for her haphazard landing, the red skirt girl should be yelling at the pale, corporate woman with dark hair who was standing by her, arms crossed and with a rather wary expression.

"I'm going to ask again, where are you from?" Alex asked as she paced back and forth in front of the captive, who lay on a rather firm bed. "And don't say…"

"Earth." The girl answered resolutely. Her pale green eyes, with a tinge of blue, scanned over the three women that crowded at the foot of her bed. "I was born here."

"No, I was born here and that's why when I put a needle to my skin, it pierces!" Alex exclaimed and gripped the bed's bottom rail. "Explain those," Alex demanded as she pointed to all the broken and bent needles that lay in a tray to the girl's left.

"Obviously they're not sharp enough," the girl said with a straight face as she held Alex's gaze. "Anyhow, I'm sorry about the mess." The girl muttered but the apology was made in earnest. She hadn't come here to fight; in fact, her sole purpose was to help these people out. Her eyes flitted to the woman in the skirt, who wore a familiar crest on her chest, and found herself at a loss for words once again.

Supergirl's expression softened and cast a gaze of concern towards Alex. She had found this girl unconscious, in the middle of the crater, stark naked but without a mark on her. She had fallen right in front of L-corp and Lena had been one of the first to arrive at the scene. At first there was only concern for the girl when they had brought her back to the DEO, but once it was certain that nothing could pierce her skin, things got a bit more complicated.

"Don't furrow your brows so much, it might become a permanent look," the girl drew her attention away from Kara as she continued to scrutinize the captor. "Unless that's what you're going for."

"I'm not sure you understand the situation you find yourself in,' Alex grinded her teeth as she spoke to the teasing youth.

"No I fully understand my predicament," The girl sighed. "Obviously you two still haven't figured it out," the girl said as she looked at Supergirl and then Lena. "So not only was my landing off, but so was my timing."

"Figured what out?" Supergirl asked as she glanced nervously at Lena. "There's nothing to figure out between Ms. Luthor and I."

"She's just… trying to get under our skin." Lena commented. "What's your name?"

"It's rather long, but you can call me Arryn."

"Arryn... " Lena waited for a last name.

"I'm not sure that's wise; how about I tell you once I know I can trust you." Arryn reasoned. "And since you can't pierce my flesh, there's no use forcing the situation."

"Not even I'm indestructible," Kara warned.

"I know that, mother always says…" Arryn stopped herself, feeling herself give away more than she should. "I mean… so I've heard… on youtube or whatever."

"Riiiiight," Alex groaned, "ok Arryn, last chance, where are you from?"

Arryn sighed and sat up from her hospital bed; she felt a bit worn from the jump, but it was nothing she hadn't felt before. "The question is not where, it's when."

"When?" Kara asked and cocked her head to the side.

"As in time travel?" Lena clarified.

Arryn smirked and nodded, "correcto mundo, I'm from the future. The somewhat distant future. I was sent back by… well you," Arryn stated as her gaze lingered on Lena. Technically her mother had told her she was to reveal her identity straight away, but that was under the assumption that she'd be dropped in the right pocket of time. And she hadn't... after all, Supergirl still called Lena, Ms. Luthor.

"By her?" Alex rudely pointed at Lena with a bewildered expression.

Arryn scratched the back of her head and caused some of her golden strands of hair to fall into her face; she tucked them back behind her ear. She had asked her mother once about her strange hair, about why one side was golden and the other stark black, and why she couldn't tame the golden side while the darker hair always fell perfectly into place. Her mother had laughed and told her it was because her other mother, the one that they needed to save, was wild and too full of life to ever sit still. Ever since she could remember, her mother always told her stories of her golden-haired mother who could fly and had unfathomable strength, but who was also addicted to pizza and potstickers and cheesy rom-coms.

"And why would I send you back in time?" Lena asked, more curious than angry.

"To help of course, mother." She did it. She dropped the m-bomb and waited for a reaction. So far only Alex seemed to draw a rather obvious conclusion as she looked at Lena, Arryn and Kara and then back again to Arryn.

"M,m,mother? That means you're Lena's…I mean Ms. Luthor's" Kara stammered and looked back at Lena, "daughter? And you have super powers?"

Arryn nodded and saw that Lena had also concluded what Alex had only moments ago, and going off of her blush, she wasn't wholly prepared for that conclusion. Surely her other mother had also figured it out by now, but the longer she held Kara's gaze, the less apparent that seemed.

"So… in the future, that means," Kara pinched her lips together as she drummed up a hypothesis and Lena held her breath as Kara came to a conclusion. "Ms. Luthor can make super babies… somehow, with science probably."

Arryn gave Kara a rather pallid expression and wondered how her genius mother ever coupled with this daft woman. "Yes… I'm Lena's daughter, let's leave it at that for now." She sighed and scooted herself off the bed. "Anyhow, I'd like to go home."

"Go home?" all three asked.

"Oh right, you two still haven't..." Arryn muttered under her breath. "Well then can I go home with you?" She looked at Lena.

"Well…" Lena took a moment to collect her thoughts. "How do I know you're telling the truth?"

Arryn smiled and approached the doubtful woman. She had outgrown her mother some time ago, and now at the age of 19, she was almost as tall as Supergirl. She unclasped a small silver chain and handed the necklace to Lena. The woman took the jewelry and examined it diligently. It was a tiny metallic cube that didn't seem to have much detail.

"Press the top and bottom side at the same time and say your name; that'll give you access to see the images."

Lena nodded and did as she was told. Suddenly, out of the tiny metallic cube, pictures populated the space around her and Lena gasped. There was one of her holding a small bundle in her arms, another of her holding onto a leash while Arryn floated happily above in an L-corp harness, and the very last image was of her… and Kara.

"Is something supposed to happen?" Kara asked, looking quizzically at Lena.

"You can't see them?" Lena asked.

"No, she can't… that only gave you access to see them. You could say her name too, and that'd give her access."

"Except she doesn't know my name," Kara stated.

"What a shame then, seeing as only mother can give access."

Kara pouted but then looked at Lena, "even if I can't see them, I trust you. Is she telling the truth?"

Lena nodded and quickly looked away from the Super's gaze. Any more of a blush and Kara would wonder what she had seen. "She is. I also think it best if she stay with me."

"Whoa whoa hold up there," Alex intervened. "As touching a family reunion as this is, I can't just let you walk out of here."

"Ok so is flying an option?" Arryn asked with a smirk and Kara snorted as she held back her laughter, earning a glare from her sister.

"A smart ass huh? I wonder where you got that from." Alex muttered.

"Oh well, you know, I had a bunch of influential aunts and uncles to learn from. I had this one particular aunt who pretty much set the standard for sarcasm."

Her insinuations were becoming more apparent, but Alex wasn't entirely ready to concede that this girl was her niece begotten by her sister and Lena.

"I guess your father must have more siblings than Lena has," Kara concluded in a rather dismal tone. Arryn was surprised at how easily Kara wore her heart on her sleeve, but somehow managed to miss all the signs around her. It was clear as day that Kara was already moping about the thought of Lena creating a family with someone else, so mopey that she failed to realize she was that someone else. She wanted to say she didn't have a father, but she refrained. If anyone knew how to help her out of this mess it was her mother.

"I'll keep her out of trouble," Lena insisted.

"And I'll help!" Kara offered before Alex could shut her down. "I'll stop by after my patrols to make sure everything is alright."

Alex groaned but knew she wasn't going to get anywhere by trying to detain the girl at the DEO. What she really wanted to do was put her under a kryptonite lamp and see if that affected her at all. It would at once confirm that she was partially kryptonian and, if she could get a blood sample, she would know for sure if she really was Kara and Lena's daughter. However, she doubted Kara would allow for that to happen and even Lena looked like she might go on the defensive.

"Fine," Alex conceded, "but during the day, you are to report here with Supergirl."

"Works for me," Arryn shrugged. "Ready to go home?" She asked and looked at Lena.

"Uh… yeah, of course, but," Lena took a moment to catch up to her reality. She was going home to her loft and she was taking her daughter from the future with her… a daughter she had somehow made with Kara. There would be at least one glass of whiskey going down her throat tonight. "Just so we're clear, we are driving."

Arryn groaned, "but cars are so slow and boring."

Kara giggled again but this time it was Lena who leered at her.

When they arrived at Lena's loft, Arryn scanned the large and mostly vacant space. Lena watched astutely as the younger girl walked along the edges. It was modern, clean and looked like a promotional picture in a luxury apartment ad. She looked at the walls and noted the lack of pictures or art. She lingered forward and came upon a bookcase and finally glimpsed on something familiar. Her mother loved to read and this bookcase contained some of her favorites. She let out a sigh of relief, at least she was in the right timeline and her mother wasn't a complete stranger.

"Soooo…" Lena started but then couldn't decide where to lead. "Are you thirsty?" She asked as she poured herself a drink.

"I'll have what you're having," Arryn responded nonchalantly.

Lena raised her brow, "I doubt you're old enough for that."

"I'm half kryptonian, alcohol really doesn't do much… well not that kind anyways." Arryn smirked as she returned to the kitchen.

"Half kryptonian huh…" Lena threw back her drink and poured another.

"Hey now, I said it doesn't do much for me… you probably shouldn't down them so fast." She spoke gently as she placed her hand on Lena's. "I'm sorry, I know I'm probably freaking you out."

"It's just a lot." Lena admitted with a sigh. "I mean you're from a future… a future where she and I…" Lena's face turned bright red before she could finish.

"Make super babies," Arryn teased as she recalled Supergirl's words. "Or technically, singular, so super baby."

"Yes, that. I can't even imagine…" Lena spoke softly.

"Is that true?" Arryn asked, picking up clearly on Lena's painful words. "Can you really not imagine her loving you?"

Lena bit her lip, she had forgotten about the girl's super hearing. She'd have to remember that in the future. "It's complicated."

"I can only speak from experience, but," Arryn smiled softly, "loving you was as easy as breathing… probably easier. I'm sure that oblivious blonde is already in love with you."

Lena laughed at Arryn's description of Kara and felt a surge of emotions burrow in her chest. It was a sort of frightful, excited, thrilling sensation that at once made Lena want to smile and cry. The girl was looking at her with unabashed affection and it was slightly unnerving to the young woman who had only known the conditional love her adoptive mother sometimes saw fit to bestow on her.

"Thank you for that… no one's said anything like that to me, ever." Lena continued her chuckle, "but should you really be calling your other mom an oblivious blonde?"

Arryn shrugged, "she is what she is." Truth be told Arryn had no idea what Supergirl was like. She only heard stories and sometimes saw old news videos. "So I take it you two aren't anywhere near to confessing your feelings, much less making super babies?"

"I do spend a lot of time with her...but actually, right now I'm dating…" Lena paused as a monitor near her door began to beep and soon enough she saw James requesting access to come up to her loft. Could anything be any more ill-timed? She fretted for a moment on what she should do, but before she could assess all the pros and cons, Arryn had already hit accept on the device. "Hey!"

"This should be interesting." Arryn arched her brow and Lena recognized the gesture as her own.

"Be...nice or behave, whatever you do, do not tell James you are our daughter."

"So what, I'm some long lost cousin?"

"Good to know you have improv skills." Lena sighed as she watched James go in the elevator from the monitor. "God knows we'll need them."

"I'm actually very good at being what you need," Arryn reassured. "Plus I want to see who came before the blonde. You never spoke of other romantic partners."

"Probably because it didn't matter at that point," Lena muttered. "I may have to reconsider having children."

"Well you did and that's how I came about, so I'm all for your reconsideration." Arryn shot back and leaned against the counter as a small knock resounded from the door.

Lena rolled her eyes at the girl but opened the door for James nonetheless. James walked in with a 'hey babe' and immediately scooped Lena in his arms for a kiss. Arryn watched with a smirk as Lena squirmed to get out of his grasp and break the kiss. James gave her a quizzical look and only then noticed that they weren't alone.

"Oh sorry, I didn't know you had company." James straightened himself up and extended his hand. "Hi, I'm James Olsen."

"Hi, Arryn, nice to meet you."

"Likewise," James smiled and couldn't help but notice the girl's strange hair. "That's a really cool hair style."

"You think?" Arryn grabbed a strand of her blonde hair. "I get it from both my mothers."

"It's natural?" James asked.

"She means to say her style is influenced by her very gay mothers." Lena explained.

Arryn burst out laughing but nodded all the same. "Yes, sorry, that's what I meant. Couldn't decide on blonde or brunette so I said why not both? And my very gay mothers approved."

"I see," James was a little lost on the joke and looked back at Lena. "new intern or?"

"No… she's my cousin on my mother's side actually. She'll be staying with me for awhile."

"Oh, wow… that explains the resemblance. Though…" James examined the youth in front of him and swore there was something about her that seemed familiar. "Nah, it's just my imagination." The man waved a hand in front of him as if that would break the illusion he seemed to be caught up in.

"Right, well, I'd like to get her settled in before tomorrow, so I'm afraid I'm not free tonight."

"Of course, sorry I came over unannounced, after the whole crater at L Corp. I was worried so I wanted to check in."

"You're so sweet, but I'm fine, promise." Lena smiled and left a small peck on James' cheek.

Arryn began to make gagging sounds but coughed when Lena whipped her head to look at her holding a small bowl of olives. "Olive… I was choking on an olive."

They said their goodbyes and once Lena was alone with Arryn, she walked to the couch and threw a pillow at her. Of course, the half kryptonian caught it with ease and threw it back with some force. The pillow collided with Lena and caused her to stumble backwards and over her couch. Before she could tumble off the couch, she felt strong arms cradle her and pick her back up.

"Sorry, I forget how fragile you were." Arryn apologized sincerely as she placed Lena on the couch. "I guess I'll have to be more careful."

"How on earth did I survive raising you? I take it your other mother was around to help with your powers." Lena groaned and sunk into her couch.

Arryn's throat tightened even as she smiled. The things she knew would have been easier to share if her mother was already with the oblivious blonde, but she wasn't. She didn't even believe the girl could love her, so there was no way Arryn was going to unload the scarier parts of her mission. She'd wait until Lena was ready… until both of them were ready.

"Yeah, but you had your ways." Arryn said and flopped next to Lena. "You had this look."

Lena opened her eyes and glared at the girl next to her.

"That one!" Arryn chuckled and used a pillow to shield herself from Lena's glare. "I knew when you gave me that look that I had better shape up or you were going to send me to bed without a story or a kiss."

"I sound absolutely frightful," Lena said and then found herself feeling a bit awkward. It was about time to get to bed, and according to the nineteen year old she was expecting Lena to give her a kiss goodnight. She had never been keen on affection… it had never been shown to her outside of a romantic relationship.

"Don't worry I outgrew all of that… as teenagers are wont to do." Arryn added and then stood up from the couch. "Do you have a spare room?"

"Yeah, follow me," Lena stood and led the girl to the guest room. "It's not much, but-"

"It's perfect," Arryn said before her mother could think of anything lacking. "Anyhow you should get some rest. I'll be flying to the DEO in the wee hours of the morning."

"The wee hours?" Lena teased.

"You did raise me, after all." Arryn said and stood awkwardly at the doorway. She wanted to hug her mother, but the woman that stood before her was so different than the one she had left behind. Her mother was loving and affectionate and would always bother her with unnecessary hugs and kisses. This one looked like she was afraid to be touched. "Goodnight," she murmured and then slowly pulled Lena in for a hug. "I won't call you mother anymore since I can tell you're still freaked out, but I couldn't help but hug you. Is this ok?"

Lena let out a deep breath and relaxed into the embrace. She couldn't help how her body stiffened at first, but found herself holding the other girl once she heard the fragility in her voice.

"It's more than okay," Lena whispered. "Sleep well. I'm right down the hall if you need anything."

With that Lena left the youth to her own devices. Arryn turned off the lights and crawled into bed. She curled into the bed's corner and laid the pillows on the other side of her so she felt less alone. She remembered her mother's last words before jumping into the time vortex, and a tear slid down her cheek.

_Save her. Save us. _


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: Right, so I may have accidentally spent a couple of days just staring at my computer typing away... because I get lost like that from time to time. So enjoy the result of me losing some hours of my life. No, but seriously, I hope you all enjoy!

**Chapter 2: Weight of the World**

When Arryn woke up the sun still hadn't peaked over the horizon and Lena was sound asleep. Quickly and quietly she went about her routine and used the french press to brew a dark roast, then made a simple toast with avocado and cherry tomatoes. She lay out the plate and poured the coffee into a mug to set by it.

"What are you doing?" A whisper in the night caused her to whip around.

"Rao you nearly gave me a heart attack!" Arryn clutched at her chest; she had rarely ever been snuck up on before..

"You know Rao?"

"Umm no, it's just what they say in the future." Arryn lied; it's what her mother said a lot, and she said she had picked it up from Supergirl. "Anyways, I'm making mother breakfast."

"That's so sweet, it smells so good." Kara sniffed at the air. "Lena will be so happy since she's always skipping meals."

"Do you want one?" Arryn asked somewhat bashfully as Kara drooled over the toast. "Just eat that one, I'll make another."

Kara smiled wide and scarfed down the toast almost as quickly as Arryn made another using her superspeed. She couldn't help but feel warm when she caught sight of Kara's light blue eyes glint with joy as she smeared avocado all over her face. She handed Kara a napkin and chuckled as she hurriedly wiped all over her face.

"That was good," Kara hummed and then eyed the other one.

"Don't even think about it," Arryn playfully threatened. "Come on, let's go."

Kara groaned but followed the girl as she super sped and flew off the balcony. They arrived at the DEO in record time and Kara for the first time in a long time (probably not since she raced Barry) was out of breath. She observed Arryn and was surprised that she looked perfectly composed. It hadn't phased her one bit.

"Geez you're not even out of breath," Kara said between deep breaths.

"The air is pretty clear today," Arryn responded casually and contained the shudder that threatened to betray her calm demeanor. On her Earth the air was contaminated, hardly breathable for someone like her. "Anyways, what will I be doing all day? Please don't say you're going to put me in a room and ask all kinds of useless questions."

"As fun as that would be, we have other interests." Alex jested and gave Kara a welcoming hug. "We're going to test your powers."

"Here? In this shiny, breakable looking building with hundreds of humans in it?" Arryn asked.

"There's a lower level with less breakable things." Kara offered optimistically and patted Arryn's shoulder. "Don't worry so much."

Arryn nodded hesitantly and followed the two women into an elevator. She listened quietly as Alex and Kara caught up on some late night episode. It was strange to see Supergirl so easy going; it was such a stark contrast to the vids she watched back home. For so long she had thought her kryptonian mother was a woman of cold, hard steel… a woman capable of making the ultimate sacrifice. Instead she was turning out to be a toast-scarfing, aloof and light-hearted girl that flew around in a red mini-skirt.

"Alright let's begin," Alex commanded as she wrapped her knuckles and stepped into the middle of what Arryn assumed was a fighting ring.

"Ummm shouldn't I fight with her?" Arryn pointed at Kara who casually leaned against the wall with her arms crossed and a smirk plastered on her face. "No offense, but I could accidentally kill you."

"We'll see about that," Alex hit a button on her watch and suddenly the room emitted a light green light.

_Kryptonite._ Arryn's eyes dilated as she took in the familiar green hue and glanced at Kara. She looked stable, if but a bit tired. She could feel the light hovering above her like a suffocatingly heavy, needle-ridden blanket, but she had lived through worse. She rolled her shoulders back and focused her energy; she needed to fool Supergirl for now.

Alex lunged forward with tactical preciseness, but Arryn was faster. She shifted to the side and took hold of Alex's arm, only to throw her at the shocked Kryptonian. Alex gasped as she collided with the girl of steel and thanked the heavens that she wasn't as thick as a statue with the kryptonite emitters on. However that also meant that Kara was in no position to catch her, so they both collapsed on the ground.

"Sorry," Arryn walked towards the groaning duo and helped them off the floor.

"You're at full strength?" Alex asked.

Arryn nodded; her training had made her resilient to this level of kryptonite.

"I told you it wouldn't work… she'd have to be kryptonian." Kara rubbed the back of her neck. "Which would also mean that Lena would've made a super baby with a… male kryptonian." Kara let out a sigh of relief, "thank Rao, that's not the case."

"Jealous, are we?" Arryn teased.

"No, but the only kryptonian male is my cousin, who is happily married to another human." Kara stated matter of factly. "Either way it's safe to say you're not kryptonian since kryptonite has no affect on you. Wait, what if..." Kara bit her lip and then grabbed Alex's wrist to change the settings in the sparring room.

Arryn analyzed the vents as they blew softly and could see the tiny molecular bits of lead that flew out. She flew up to examine the vents and looked back down at Kara who was smiling up at her. She gave her a raised brow on her descent and waited for an explanation.

"Oh wow you really look a lot like Lena when you do that," Kara stated somewhat absentmindedly. "And it looks like you're not affected by lead either, so that's great!"

"Really Supergirl? You thought she was half Daxamite?" Alex muttered.

"His powers were kinda the same." Kara shrugged.

"Yeah but Lena doesn't have the same bad tastes that you do. She would never."

"Hey that's not fair, he ended up being a decent superhero after time traveling and all."

"Still I doubt mother would want your sloppy seconds." Arryn picked up on the conversation and received a chuckle from Alex. "And I know for a fact that he is not my father. Regardless I thought we were training, not playing some strange game show where you try and guess the other half of my DNA by exploiting my weaknesses."

"Would it kill you to tell us though?" Kara whined.

"Maybe you should figure out why it bothers you so much first," Arryn responded and caught how Kara's brow scrunched together. "Then I'll tell you."

Kara slumped her shoulders in defeat but pushed no further. They switched up their training methods and put Arryn through a few environments to see how well she'd react. Kara and Alex watched from behind the barrier and barely contained their awe when their jaws dropped. She was fast, precise and elegant in her movements. She had the same powers as Kara and Clark, but her ability to wield them seemed more refined. At some point she had used both her laser vision and freeze breathe instantaneously to cripple the leg of a large robot (Winn had assured Alex that the day would come when she would thank him for training Kara to take down killer robots).

The simulation ended and Arryn walked back into the observation room as casually as ever; not a drop of sweat on her.

"Golly…" Kara gulped and looked the girl up and down. "Lena sure knows how to make a super baby."

Arryn let out an uncharacteristic snort of laughter and quickly tried to play it off, but she couldn't help but feel caught off guard by the blonde's comments. Once she regained her composure, she glanced at Alex. She recognized the woman from the vids as well, and her mother had told her many fond tales of the woman who led the rebellion. Perhaps she could recruit her help.

"May I speak with you alone?" Arryn requested.

"Yeah, of course, Supergirl, do you mind?"

"Of course not, I think I hear a siren in the distance anyways." Kara excused herself and took off.

Arryn sat on a nearby chair and twirled a bit before stopping and focusing her gaze on Alex.

'If you don't mind, I'd prefer we communicate telepathically.'

Alex's eyes widened as Arryn's voice echoed in her mind but her lips remained perfectly still.

"Why?" Alex asked aloud.

'She does have super hearing, you know.'

"Right, ok, I'll give it a try." Alex huffed and tried to focus by furrowing her brows. 'Is it working?'

Arryn smiled, 'perfect, I knew you had some brains to go with that brawn, but seriously relax, your face might stay that way.'

'Shut up,' Alex rolled her eyes. 'So, ready to share something useful?'

Arryn nodded, 'so you know I'm from the future and that Lena and Supergirl are my parents.'

'So you say, but I'm not convinced. If you were Kryptonian then the kryptonite would have weakened you back in the sparring room.'

Arryn shook her head, 'not if I've been conditioned to adapt to certain levels. You see… in my time, the air is laced with it.'

'But that would…'

'My mother built shields and we lived underground.'

'You, Lena and...?'

Arryn frowned and shook her head, 'in my time, I am the last Kryptonian. I never knew my other mother personally. Sometimes I would find old, banned vids… news stories of Supergirl. She was fierce… strong, but not invincible.'

'God…' Alex's bottom lip quivered.

'I was sent back to prevent that future… but I was supposed to appear when my mother was already with Supergirl. I fear telling either of them now will not help my mission. Therefore, my primary goal is to get that oblivious blonde to confess to my mother.' Arryn smiled gently and looked determined. 'Shouldn't be that hard, right? But I might need your help.'

Alex took a deep breath and unclenched her fists; she felt a knot forming at her chest. The strange girl could still be lying to her; her story could very well be a fabrication meant to throw her off her game… or it could be real. She looked into Arryn's eyes and found hints of Kara's blue looking back at her.

_Kara._

That's right… Alex replayed her interactions with Arryn and realized that the young girl only ever referred to her other mother as Supergirl. Her watch buzzed and when she looked down at it, it was a message from Kara.

"Come with me, I want you to see something. But first, you'll need a few items." Alex turned to a locker nearby and grabbed a light sweater with a hoodie and some shades. Arryn raised her brow. "You really do look like Lena when you do that; anyways let's go."

Arryn followed and groaned when they neared the garage. She really did hate car rides. She was about to complain when Alex shoved a helmet in her hands. She looked at it, slightly befuddled, but when she looked up and saw Alex approaching a sleek looking machine, she smiled. Excitedly she pulled the helmet over her head and strapped it into place before hopping on.

When Alex took off down the street at an accelerated speed, Arryn loved the feeling of cutting through the wind. It wasn't nearly as intense as flying, but it was much better than being in a car. They pulled into a cafe and Alex instructed her to pull her hood up and keep her shades on. The young girl did as she was told and followed Alex to a corner table. When they sat, Arryn caught sight of her mother and would have called out, but she looked so happy listening to whoever was sitting across from her.

"Rao...she really has a thing for blondes." Arryn muttered. "At least this one is more sensible with her fashion."

Alex laughed, "you think her clothes are fashionable?"

Arryn shrugged, "I'd take pants and a cardigan over a stupid skirt anyday." She observed the woman closer and was alarmed by her beauty. "Who is she?"

Alex watched Arryn's curious expression and thought it was really cute that the girl with super powers couldn't see past Kara's disguise.

"Seems as though my mother just played the field before settling with Supergirl. First James who is all tall, dark and handsome, and now it's some cute, bubbly, ray of sunshine girl," Arryn sighed and fell back into the booth. "I've never seen her look like that."

"What do you mean?"

"So happy..." Arryn murmured. "Why show me this?"

Alex cleared her throat, "well, I wanted to introduce you to Kara."

"Is that her name? Rao even her name is beautiful...I think...I've heard it before," Arryn crossed her arms, "well, I think I'll go introduce myself to this Kara."

"Wait, Arryn, no!" Alex tried to pull her back, but restraining a super-powered teen was nearly impossible.

Arryn walked to Lena's table nonchalantly and pulled a chair so that she could sit at the edge. She lowered her shades and glanced at her mother and gave Kara a wary look.

"Arryn!" Lena exclaimed and looked around to see if anyone was accompanying her.

"Hello...Lena," it felt strange calling her mother by her first name. "And you are?"

"Oh, I'm Kara-"

"And what are you to my ermmm...aunt?" Arryn asked and cut Kara off.

"I, I'm a reporter at CatCo. Lena's my boss and best friend."

"Good, that's how it should remain. You are not the blonde she's going to end up with." Arryn stated decisively much to Lena's horror.

"Arryn what are you doing?" Lena hissed.

"I see the way you look at her… you didn't even look at James like that, but you can't be sidetracked." Arryn defended her actions and held her mother's hostile gaze. "You don't belong with her."

"Who should she be with then?" Kara asked, clearly irritated much to Lena's surprise.

"Someone more powerful… though she really should ditch the skirt." Arryn muttered as she looked back at Kara. "I do like your clothes more."

"Rao… I mean wow… golly, thanks." Kara stammered; her brain slowly malfunctioning.

Arryn threw Kara a wary glance; did she just say Rao and golly?

"So Supergirl then…" Kara stated somewhat in a daze. "Supergirl who I sometimes have coffee as.. with, I mean with."

"You're friends with her? Rao could this get any worse?" Arryn asked, dropping her suspicions and assuming she had picked up her mannerisms from Supergirl. "Look, you seem like a nice lady… I mean you seem way more cute and reliable than that skirt-wearing superhero, but... " Arryn stopped and felt terrible. Her mother had been in love with another human… a nice human who wore pastel cardigans. If it weren't for Supergirl, maybe her mother would have lived a normal, happy life… without her, without all those nights crying. She had heard her mother cry out for a 'Kara' on some nights. Her heart ached and she felt her eyes grow wet so she pushed her shades back up. "Actually… maybe I'm wrong, or at the very least, I don't know what's right anymore. I'm sorry, Kara...Lena… excuse me," her voice cracked on her mother's name and she stood to leave.

She hurried out of the cafe, the sounds drowning in the heavy thumps of her heart, and quickly she took to the sky. She could hear her mother call out to her, but she blocked her out as she broke through the atmosphere. Back in her time, sometimes, when she was angry, she would drift far above into the atmosphere, above the contaminated air, above the darkness that she eventually had to return to. She recalled how incandescently happy her mother looked talking to that woman. Maybe… if she didn't end up with Supergirl, if she was never born, everything might be better. Her mother wouldn't be subject to hiding underground for the rest of her life; she'd have friends like the ones she talked about even in her sleep… she wouldn't cry so much.

Lena paced to and fro in her office, the click of her heels sounding at a constant staccato beat. Kara sat anxiously on the couch, biting her bottom lip occasionally as she watched Lena. She had walked the CEO back to her office after how distraught she seemed by Arryn's departure, but apart from telling her everything would be ok, Kara didn't know how else to comfort her.

"She was on the verge of crying and I just sat there," Lena muttered and clenched her hands into a fist. "I had plenty of time to say or do something before she left."

Kara stood and placed herself in Lena's path. She took Lena's clenched fists in each of her hands and glanced into her light green eyes. She wasn't sure what she wanted to say, or what Lena needed to hear, but she was tired of just sitting on the sidelines while Lena kept taking the brunt of the burden.

"You can't keep blaming yourself, I was there too... " Kara spoke softly as she began making patterns with her thumbs to relax Lena's hands. "I know it might not be my place, but I will always be here for you Lena, so you don't to carry all of this alone."

Lena felt her heart skip a beat as Kara's sterling blue eyes held hers so firmly. She felt her body leaning closer to the reporter's, the more Kara massaged her palms with the movements of her thumbs. She wanted to lay her head on Kara's shoulder, to feel her strong arms wrap around her and hold her tightly… and to feel her body fit right into hers.

"Do you like me?" Kara's voice carried with a shake and Lena wondered if it was fear or something else.

Lena gave a half ways nod before explaining, "but it's more than that. I love you, Kara." She hadn't expected to confess, not now, but she wanted Kara to understand just how deep her feelings were. "When I'm with you, I feel like anything is possible."

Kara's lips pulled into a smile, "me too… I mean, I also feel the same when I'm with you." Kara leaned closer and felt her body shiver; she had never been this close. Her gaze flicked to Lena's lips and back to her eyes. "But… what about Supergirl?"

Lena sighed and took a step back, but kept her hands in Kara's. "I'll always love you before her… does that make sense?"

"I...I think so," the blonde responded. Kara wasn't sure what to make of Lena's answer. "Maybe we should all talk; I think there are some things…"

Lena's cell rang and Alex's name rolled across her screen. She gave Kara an apologetic glance as she withdrew and walked over to her desk.

"Hello," she answered.

"Lena you need to get over here, now." Alex demanded.

"Why? What's happened?" Lena asked, her stomach sinking.

"I was at my desk, and suddenly a black journal appeared from thin air and was resting on my lap."

Lena arched a brow, "and?"

"And it's hers, Lena. It's a journal from the future."

By the time Arryn returned, night had fallen over National City. She perched herself on top of the L Corp. building and scanned the area. Her mother wasn't at her office, so she dropped down to the balcony and sat on the comfortable patio chairs.

"Thought I'd find you here," a strong voice came from above. "Like mother, like daughter."

Arryn gave the superhero a tired look before glancing away; she wasn't in the mood to be hassled. "Leave me alone."

"She's worried sick you know?" Kara spoke softly.

"I left her in good hands, a pretty blonde you might know… Kara."

"Oh, right, Ms. Danvers…" Kara blushed.

"Who my mother's completely smitten with…and I can't blame her."

"Does it bother you?"

"Bother me?" Arryn's face twisted before she slumped further in her chair. "Does it bother me that for the first time ever I saw her smile and laugh completely free of pain? My entire existence… I just… I wish I didn't exist."

"Don't say that," Kara took hold of the girl's hand and sat by her. "She's probably never had anyone make her breakfast until today… she said she thought it was very sweet and exactly what she needed."

"Aren't you in love with her? I thought she was in love with you too until I saw her with that girl. I mean not that it matters..." Arryn bit on her tongue. She was treading on a thin line and confessing to Supergirl seemed even less appealing than before.

Kara chuckled much to Arryn's astonishment. "I'm honestly the most oblivious person in the universe...but I know now… what you are to me and Lena."

Arryn swallowed hard and focused on her breathing. "Like I said before it doesn't matter...I'm not going to force her to choose you over Kara."

"Do you think… Lena could love us both?"

"Both?" Arryn's eyes nearly popped out and she drew her hand out of Supergirl's. She wasn't aware that Supergirl was such an open-minded individual. "Oh Rao… are you also in love with Kara Cardigan Danvers? Are you all just…" Arryn stopped as mortification turned into petrification.

"Rao… where does your mind go?" Kara snapped with embarrassment. "That's not what I meant…also what did you just call her? She doesn't always wear cardigans just so you know," she rambled and sighed. "Maybe we should all talk, soon. Until then you should go home."

Arryn nodded and flew to the loft. She wanted to ask Supergirl where her home was and if she could stay with her, but for all she knew, she had a bunk at the DEO. When she slid in through the balcony, she noticed no lights were on. She scanned the rooms and sighed-no one was home. Her body ached from her atmosphere drifting activities and inside she felt weak and hollow.

Meanwhile at the DEO, Lena was rifling through a black journal.

_May 15 5AS,_

_I'm not sure what I'm going to do yet, but I learned in this really old book that there is a day for mothers. I'm going to make mine the most beautiful gift, I just need to go above and find some coal. Then I can carve it into our sigil and it'll sparkle like the last time I lasered one. I should stop writing, I can hear her crying, so I'll go cuddle and make sure there's no water on her face :)_

_June 25 5AS,_

_I got sick when I went above, but I got the coal. But I was too sick to use my lasers so it's still just coal. I think I ruined the day for mothers. All I did was make her cry even more. I promised not to go above anymore. Last night she told me a story about my other mommy and her friends… I wish they were here too._

_September 11 6AS,_

_Mommy says I'm her ray of sunshine and her light. I feel warm when she tells me that. I asked her why and she said it's because I'm always smiling and hungry and silly. So I'll always be those things since those things make me into sunshine. _

_January 10 7AS,_

_My mommy made me a shield for the bad air! I still can't go out without her, but sometimes we go on raids together. The air still stings when I inhale, but I don't get as sick. Today she taught me how to use my freeze breath… hers is much colder. My training is getting harder and I get hurt a lot, but she always makes it better. One day I hope to be as strong as her. Then I'll protect her like she protects me. _

_I also found a vid on our last raid. It's a news vid and Supergirl is in it! She has the same powers as me and mother. She looks so cool in her uniform… mother said she used to wear a cute, little, red skirt… I hope I never see that. _

_November 12 11AS,_

_She says I remind her of my other mother, of Supergirl. I'm not sure if that's a good thing. She looks so sad sometimes, when she looks at me. I wish I could make her smile without the sadness. I'm getting stronger and the kryptonite doesn't affect me as much. I lasted five hours in the gas chamber which is a new record. It hurts a lot, but I've got to get stronger… otherwise, I'm no good to mother. Soon I'll be able to go outside and do more than raids. It's my birthday soon… I wonder if mother will remember this time. She works so much, I wish I was more helpful. _

_November 24 11AS,_

_She remembered and we spent the day making cake; it was so good! And she shared a new story with me! She told me about the first time she went flying with Supergirl and how they had game nights with all their friends. I learned about Alex, Winn, James, Brainy, Nia, J'onn… so many names. I sometimes wonder what happened to everyone, but I'm too scared to ask. They aren't here now… it's just me and mother. _

_March 26 14AS,_

_I had another nightmare; I think they're getting worse. At least mother holds me at night and when I hear her voice, I don't feel so trapped. I'm getting better at making her laugh and smile. She seems happier now that I'm able to withstand the polluted air. I've gone on more missions and only once did I ever get a really bad injury. The bots are carrying kryptonite blades now… they're strong. The scar across my back will probably never disappear entirely. Mother did her best to graft the skin so that it wasn't as noticeable. _

_Now that I'm stronger, she depends on me more. I hold her when she looks like she's trapped in the past.. She's building something rather large; it takes up most of her time. _

_May 4 14AS,_

_The nightmares still come but I've stopped crying. She always looks so tired at night after working on that strange machine. She must also have nightmares because I can feel her tremble in bed and she calls out a name I haven't heard before. Kara. I'm not sure who that is… she's never mentioned a Kara before. _

_I've taken over meal prep since she forgets to eat all the time. I miss her cooking. _

_She hasn't sent me on many missions and I'm growing restless, but maybe she needs me down here with her. The topside is getting worse. I found more vids of Supergirl and… I wish she was here. I feel very strong, but… I feel like I can't be anything else. I can't be scared… I can't be sad… I need to be what she needs me to be. Apparently I've become more sarcastic… it's really easy to slip into. _

_July 5 19AS,_

_I know my mission now and I'm ready. I'm strong in body and mind and I won't let her down. Everything I am today is because she conditioned me to weather the darkest most painful paths, and I won't let it be for nothing. I just wish I didn't have to leave her all alone. I know I'll see her past self, but it won't be the same… she won't even know who I am. Mother said that she might be a little shut off… so I guess I won't expect the same affection. _

_I'm going to leave this behind. I do have one final question… if I were to break, would my mother still love me? What if I fail?_

_I'm scared._

Lena closed the journal and let out a sob before handing Alex the time traveling object. She hadn't read all of the entries, but the entries she had skimmed painted a very dark picture. Arryn had told her she was very good at being what she needed, but she hadn't realized the emotional burden shouldered in that comment. It was clear that Arryn blamed herself for Lena's sorrow… that she still blamed herself.

"I have to find her."

"She's at home, Supergirl just confirmed."

Lena nodded and hastily left. When she entered the loft, she rushed to the spare room. She turned the light on and felt her heart drop when she realized it was empty. She went back to the living room and checked the couch but she wasn't there either. Finally she checked her room and found the girl curled in the blankets and hugging one of her pillows tightly. She glided towards the bed, reached out to wake the girl, but stopped short when she noticed the light sheen of sweat on Arryn's skin.

"No, please…" Arryn whined as she tossed and turned, "I can't…"

Lena gently caressed Arryn's face and tried to shush her nightmares away. Arryn woke with a start and scrambled away from Lena.

"I'm sorry," Arryn rasped out as she wiped the tears that threatened to fall. "I… I couldn't fall asleep, and your blankets and pillows… well they," Arryn's breath hitched.

Lena drew closer to the youth and slowly wrapped her arms around her. "You miss her." Lena whispered as she cradled Arryn.

"I'm ok, I just," Arryn took a deep breath and relaxed her body. "I'm sorry, I'll go back to my room."

"Stop." Lena tightened her grip and pulled the girl closer to her. "Please… stop."

"Are you ok?" Arryn asked, turning her gaze on Lena and checking for any abnormal health conditions. Aside from an elevated heart rate, nothing much seemed to be wrong with her. "I'm fine, I promise… don't worry." She wore a gentle smile as she reassured the woman who was looking at her with wet eyes. "Don't cry… please."

Lena struggled to keep from falling apart. All her life she had learned to restrain her emotions because Lillian had no desire for her affection and cast them as weaknesses. She grew up with a family that saw emotions as elements to manipulate; puppet strings to pull. In time she learned how to wear a mask, to hide her precious emotions away from those who sought to use them against her. The smile Arryn was giving her was a different kind of mask; a smile worn for Lena's comfort. Somehow, her daughter had picked up the same tactics; even if for very different reasons, it filled Lena with a deep sorrow.

"You can't keep it all in… it'll destroy you." Lena whispered as she placed her hand on Arryn's cheek. "It's ok you know… it's ok to cry." Her voice wavered as a lone tear trailed down Arryn's cheek. "It doesn't mean your weak or stupid," Lena continued and more hot tears fell. "I'm sorry for letting you feel so alone… I guess I'm not really mother of the year material."

"But," Arryn whimpered, "you're my favorite." Arryn's whimpers turned into sobs and Lena pulled the girl to cry into her embrace.

Arryn wept and felt all her walls begin to crumble as her mother's arms wrapped around her tighter. She could taste the saltiness of her tears as they slid past her lips and found comfort in the familiar lavender scent that always lingered on her mother. Her cries died down as Lena's soft hushes soothed her as did the way she was combing her hair. She wondered if it was somehow innate… it's what her mother often did after a particularly hard day. Soon enough Lena felt the girl's weight shift and her breathing was slower; she had fallen asleep

She lay there holding the girl from the future and thought back to when she woke up that morning. She had found coffee and toast awaiting her on the counter. Stupidly, she had checked her surveillance cameras, not realizing it was Arryn who had prepared the food. Being a Luthor meant being a target. That was when she saw Kara in her suit sneak up on Arryn and then pine after the toast. When she zoomed in on Arryn, she could clearly see how Kara's presence affected her. She was nervous and unsure but eager to please, so she had let Kara eat the first toast. It was sweet to see how happy Arryn looked when Kara practically shoved the toast down her throat.

When she showed up at the cafe, Lena had been caught off guard. She had invited Kara for lunch to tell her about Arryn… to tell her that she knew a lot more than she let on. Truth be told, she wanted Kara's help… the whole situation felt overwhelming and she thought the kryptonian might handle a super-powered teenager better than she could. Aside from that, Kara was warmer than she was and probably more nurturing. However, it never dawned on Lena that Arryn was oblivious to Supergirl's identity as Kara Danvers. She would have found it more comical, if the girl hadn't looked so hurt towards the end, and Lena understood why. Supergirl was her mother… if Lena chose anyone else, it would mean the end of her existence. It also didn't help that Arryn associated her existence with Lena's loss. She sighed out of frustration; she had thought if ever she had a child, she would protect them from carrying her scars. To top it off, Kara had inadvertently been told she was Arryn's mother, but couldn't so much as say anything as Kara Danvers. All in all, it was a disaster.

Tomorrow she planned on admitting to Kara that she knew about her being Supergirl, and then together they could let Arryn know the truth about her family. Lena smiled-their family.

The next morning, Lena rose early and waited in the kitchen. Sure enough, Supergirl flew in and looked a bit surprised to see Lena instead of Arryn.

"Le...Ms. Luthor, uhhh, you're up super early." Kara stammered as she took in the sight of Lena in a t-shirt and plaid pajama pants with her hair let loose. A more glorious sight, she couldn't imagine. She coughed and looked away, "is Arryn here?"

"Still sleeping." Lena whispered. "I'll be taking her out today. I've taken the day off." Lena smirked and added, "do you mind letting Kara know I'd like her to join us for breakfast at Russo's around 9."

"Oh, yeah sure. I'll be on my way then…" Kara turned to leave and then looked back. "Is she alright? Agent Danvers called and said she might not be."

"She's fine, if but a bit prone to carrying the weight of the world all on her own." Lena sighed, "which is why I want her to sit with Kara for a bit."

"Kara…. what can Kara do?" Kara asked meekly.

"If there's one thing I know about my best friend, it's that she often tries to carry more than she should to protect those she cares about; Arryn needs to hear from someone who can relate. Plus, Arryn owes her an apology."

Kara smiled and blurted out, "you're amazing."

Lena blushed, but kept her eyes on the Kryptonian. "What makes you say that?"

"You're just… good at everything." Kara explained, feeling her blush run down her throat. "Anyhow I should get going. I'll see you… I mean, I'll see that Kara makes it to breakfast."

Lena chuckled and nodded as the Kryptonian made her exit. How Kara managed to keep her identity secret, Lena would never know. When Arryn woke, the teenager beamed with energy and Lena wondered if all Kryptonians woke up like that after a night of crying. If so, she envied that ability.

"Looks like you beat me this time," Arryn yawned as she entered the kitchen and settled with a lazy smile.

"I actually took the day off, I wanted you to join me for breakfast." Lena commented and watched Arryn's face for a reaction.

"That sounds great, I love breakfast! Food in general… also, did Supergirl come by?"

"She did, but I let her know you'd be spending the day with me." Lena answered.

"Oh, good, I'm glad I missed her… I mean sorry, sorry I missed her."

Lena arched a brow at the girl's strange response, but didn't push for an answer. Soon enough they found themself at Russo's which was a small cafe with a private patio that Lena had requested in advance.

Lena ordered her usual coffee and fruit cup, but when she looked over at Arryn, she found the girl in awe over the menu.

"Order whatever you want," Lena insisted.

"Are you sure… because I can eat a lot." Arryn warned.

Lena nodded with a small smile; if she was anything like Kara, her stomach was a black hole. However when she asked for one of everything on the breakfast menu, Lena still wasn't prepared. The waiter looked at her with a tentative look, but she just nodded and sent him on his way. Another waiter came by and he was accompanied by a smiling blonde. Lena quickly rose and hugged Kara before she settled in the seat in between her and Arryn. The teenager's eyes widened before she could control her expression and offer Kara a friendly smile.

"I hope you don't mind, I invited Kara to join us." Lena stated and cast a concerned glance at Arryn.

"Of course I don't mind. I actually wanted to apologize," she looked at Kara, "for yesterday."

"Oh, don't worry about it," Kara waved her hands in front of her.

"I've decided you are a much better partner for my mother… I mean aunt," Arryn went on. "Since our last meeting I have discovered Supergirl is much too erratic… I'm pretty sure she wants both of you. See I had a late night talk with her and she didn't say exactly that, but in so many words, she may as well have."

"Are you sure that's what she meant?" Kara asked, her cheeks practically glowing.

"She asked me if I thought Lena could love both her and you," Arryn commented and then frowned. "I'd prefer Lena not to end up with some free loving Kryptonian who is willing to share." Then she looked to Kara and smiled, "I'm team Kara now."

Lena opened her mouth but hastily shut it as words failed to come to mind.

"Why the sudden shift?" Kara asked much to Lena's surprise. "How can I compare to a superhero?"

"Because you make her smile, and since you're just a human you won't do that thing all superheroes end up doing." Arryn's voice wavered slightly and Lena saw the quick flash of pain in her eyes that she so easily covered with a gentle smile.

"Which is?" Kara pressed for answers.

"You won't abandon her and sacrifice yourself for the greater good." Arryn commented dryly as she leaned back in her chair and looked up at the sky. "Lena deserves more than…superheroes or super...anything" Arryn looked back down at her hands. She would cease to exist if she kept pushing this along, but maybe that was for the best. "Now if you two don't mind, I'm going to go find Supergirl and have some words with her." She rose to leave but Lena quickly stood in her way.

"Wait, you've got a few things wrong."

Arryn chuckled, "it's ok, I'm ok with this decision. Please, let me go." Lena didn't budge. "You know I could just fly away." Arryn sighed as she prepared to do just that.

"Arryn Zor-el Luthor, do not fly away from your mother!" Kara shouted as she stood from her chair.

Arryn felt her heart skip a beat as the cardigan wearing human called out her full name. Slowly she turned to look at Kara and stood still as her blue eyes focused on her.

"Did you just…" Arryn pinched her cheek and tilted her head. "Am I dreaming? Did I die?"

"No… I know your name because… I'm Supergirl."

Arryn heard the words and even managed to piece them together; Kara Danvers had just claimed she was Supergirl.

"Kara Cardigan Danvers…" Arryn burst out laughing, doubling over as she reached out for the chair to keep her from falling to her knees.

Lena sighed and massaged her temples before walking over to a flabbergasted Kara.

"I don't think she believes you." Lena murmured, giving Kara a sympathetic smile.

"I'm not sure you do either," Kara eyed the brunette warily.

"Believe me, I do…" Lena sighed, "I've known for awhile."

"What? How?" Kara's eyes widened.

"At first I thought you were blatantly trying to out yourself to me, but I soon realized you're just a really bad liar." Lena teased. "Ms. I flew on a bus and can sneeze hard enough to take out a SWAT team. It's also probably your fault that our daughter has such horrible skills of deduction."

Kara blushed when Lena said 'our daughter' and noticed the smirk that graced her lips. "We can't all be geniuses… still does she have to laugh that much?"

Arryn completely missed their conversation as her laughter progressed further until her eyes teared. If she wasn't dead, she soon would be from lack of breath. She eased her shaking body back into the chair and willed her laughter away. She composed herself and looked back up at Kara, who shifted her glasses further up the bridge of her nose, and Arryn struggled to contain her giggles.

"I'm sorry," Arryn coughed out the last of her giggles, "but you can't expect me to believe..."

"I chose her and you're still here." Lena suggested, hoping her daughter would understand.

"You say that now, but obviously later on down the line you're probably swayed by Supergirl's little skirt, or her strong arms, or…"

Lena rolled her eyes and with the agility of a cat, wound one hand behind Kara's neck and slightly lifted herself to meet Kara's lips with her own. The kiss was soft, gentle and warm as Kara leaned further into it. She meant to be chaste, but the feeling was overwhelming and she deepened the kiss. Arryn watched with wide eyes at her mother's brazen behavior but then her jaw dropped when she realized they were floating.

"Rao she floats!" Arryn gasped and that was enough to break Lena from the spell she was under.

"Kara!" Lena shouted and wrapped both her arms around Kara's shoulders. "Put us down."

Kara complied and apologized as she set them down. Arryn stared at them both, completely at a loss of what to say. The waiter came through with trays of food, so they all took their seats, trying to seem as normal as possible. Arryn remained silent and glanced between the two women every now and then. She scrunched her brow and let out a deep breath as she crossed her arms.

"I don't understand…" Arryn looked up at Kara, "you… pretend to be human just to hang out with mom?"

Kara's eyes widened as a blush crept up her cheeks and stammered, "n,n,no that's not why! All heroes have secret identities… it allows me to protect those I love and also… to live a fuller life." She glanced at Lena with a bashful smile. "Apparently it's not too good of a secret."

Arryn cupped her chin and glanced at Lena, "you knew?"

Lena nodded. "Glasses and cardigans can't hide all of Kara's tells."

Arryn chuckled and felt a thrill rush in her chest as her laughter rumbled. It filled her with a warmth she hadn't felt in so long. Then slowly her laughter turned into soft sobs.

"Arryn?" Kara grabbed the girls hand. "What's wrong?"

"I'm just… so happy," Arryn cried, "you're her happiness; you've always been, but I-"

A sick, slicing sound interrupted Arryn's speech and before she could process the searing pain that centered in her abdomen, her mouth was full of a metallic taste. Lena's eyes went wide as her skin paled; a vortex had opened behind Arryn and a strange gas-masked figure stood in its wake. Arryn glanced down and was met with a familiar, glowing green.

"Kryp...tonite?" She could feel her insides burn.

"No!" Kara flew forward, pushing the figure and herself through the vortex.

The vortex closed, leaving behind only the impaled spear in Arryn's back. Lena hardly had time to process what had just happened, when she grabbed Arryn's shoulders with shaky hands. She withdrew one quickly to reach for her phone and called Alex.

"Alex, I'm at Russo's. You need to come now! Arryn's been impaled with Kryptonite… and Kara...she…" Lena cried as Alex responded, but she couldn't make sense of anything.

'Don't…" Arryn's voice was weak as she raised a hand to cup Lena's face. "Cry." She glanced down and then back up at Lena. "Pull… please."

Lena's lips trembled as she observed the spear. If she pulled it out now, Arryn could bleed to death.

"I...I can't, what if…"

"Trust...me… please." Arryn begged.

Lena took a deep breath and took hold of the staff. She felt her throat clench with bile, but steeled herself for what came next. Swiftly she pulled the spear back and threw it as far away as she could. Arryn gasped as she leaned back on the chair and basked in the rays of the sun. The iciness that filled her veins slowly dissipated as warmth washed over her. She could still feel blood bubble in her throat and turned her head so that it spilled on the brick pavement.

"Much better…" Arryn winced and clutched at her side.

"You're still bleeding." Lena cried as she bent down to observe the girl's wound.

"I can't heal all the way… but the important parts are ok." Arryn offered a weak grin. "I just need to rest."

The girl's eyes rolled back and her body went limp. Not long after Alex appeared with a number of DEO agents and they were rushed to the facilities. Alex went to work quickly after Arryn was laid on the operating table. She cut through her shirt and analyzed the wound while cleaning the area. It was a deep gash, but just by being under the sun lamp, Alex could see that the flesh was healing abnormally quick. She had lost a lot of blood; Alex would need to wash her to assess all the damage.

Lena lingered on the opposite side of the table, handing Alex whatever she asked for. She handed her a damp, warm towel and was amazed to see that when Alex wiped the blood from the wound area, all that remained was a scar.

"She's healed… abnormally fast." Alex murmured. "Her heartbeats at a steady rate… I guess I should clean the rest of her up."

However, once she was done cleaning the blood, Lena gasped with horror.

"My god…" Lena's fingers trembled as they lightly traced Arryn's abdomen. "There are so many."

_I've been conditioned to adapt to certain levels._

Alex recalled what Arryn had told her and bit back a cry. Only Kryptonite could permanently scar a Kryptonian. The duo continued to wipe Arryn's body of blood and found deeper marks on the girl's back.

"She needs a shirt," Lena murmured as she dabbed at the girl's face.

"Of course, I'll go get one. I also need to check with Brainy on Kara's situation… you said she went through a vortex?"

"Yes… she pushed the man through it. I think… she went to Arryn's time."

Alex clenched her jaw; she had hoped that wasn't the case. Arryn had told her that the air in her time had been tainted with Kryptonite. She glanced back at the girl who was steadily breathing. She wasn't a time traveling expert, but through normal deduction, as long as Arryn was still alive and here, that meant Kara had survived.

"Lena… I know you want to stay by her side, but the agents recovered the kryptonite. I wanted you to take a look at it."

"Of course," Lena nodded, faltered for a moment and then bent down to leave a kiss on Arryn's forehead. "Lower lab?"

"Yeah, I'll drop by after putting a shirt on her."

The two parted ways, each on their own mission and with heavy hearts. Lena couldn't believe how scarred Arryn's body was, and deep in her gut, she had a feeling it wasn't due to battles with enemies. The thought made her stomach turn, but she needed to stay focused for the task at hand. Meanwhile, Alex was determined to find her sister. Somewhere out there, in a different pocket of time, was a displaced Kryptonian in a world she no longer recognized.


	3. Chapter 3

_**A/N: Just realized I could have definitely spaced out my chapters better so that they were similar lengths... ehh oh well. This one is rather emotional, so I was drained by the time I hit 4k words. Honestly, I've imagined a very awful future so this probably won't be the last emotionally draining chapter I'll write haha... **_

_**Again, hope you enjoy!**_

_**Chapter 3: Love is Pain**_

All she felt was a horrible, burning sensation as she gasped for air. The more she tried to breath, the more intense the burning was, until she was sure her lungs had melted. Dark spots appeared in her vision as she collapsed on the floor. The last thing she remembers hearing is another body hitting the ground, and a strong voice saying "my love." She dreams of Lena and thinks maybe she's reached heaven because she figures that would be a fitting end. They're happy, free from the pain of reality but Kara doesn't see Arryn.

"Kara…"

She hears her name being spoken by a soft, velvet voice and slowly feels her eyelids flutter open. Her vision is blurry at first, but she doesn't recognize her surroundings. It smells damp, like wet earth, and everything is dark save for the few lights mounted in various spots. She blinks and tries to sit up but her bones feel like they might snap.

"Don't move just yet," the voice tells her and she feels a gentle hand on her chest.

"Lena?" She asks as her vision clears.

"Yes, my love, it's me." Lena sighs and moves a strand of Kara's hair from her face.

Kara registers the term of endearment and blushes profusely enough for Lena to chuckle.

"I'm guessing we're not quite there yet in your time." Lena suggests and receives a light nod from the kryptonian. "It's alright, just rest for now."

"Where… where is Arryn?" Kara asks, afraid that she's somehow ruined everything.

Lena smiles and says, "sleeping, thank Rao. Which is what I'd like to do too, if you don't mind?" She glances at the space on the bed near Kara.

Kara looks to her side and finds that she's on a decent sized bed. "Oh, yes of course I don't mind. This is your bed after all."

"Our bed," Lena corrects her as she slips in beside her with a wink and relishes the renewed blush on Kara's cheeks. "Don't worry I don't bite… much."

Kara gulps and feels her body grow hot as she tries her best not to look at Lena. She remembers that one time Lena bit her bottom lip, and how it had the most profound effect on her, causing her to mirror the action. She was sure that while Lena looked absolutely divine biting her bottom lip, she probably looked like an idiot.

"But… is it ok if I hold you?" Lena's voice is quieter this time, and when Kara looks over at her, she sees an expression she's never seen on Lena before.

She looks afraid but sad as well, and Kara wishes she could move more. She nods and relishes the way Lena scoots towards her until her leg intertwines with hers and she nestles in the crook of her neck. She feels Lena exhale as her body relaxes against hers and hums when Lena's hand rests on abdomen.

"I missed you so much, Kara." Lena's voice is still fragile and when she leaves a chaste kiss on the edge of Kara's jaw, the other girl inhales sharply as a shiver runs down her spine. "Now sleep, my love. I'll explain more tomorrow."

Kara does just that and manages to wrap her arm around the woman who fits perfectly into her. She's never felt as complete as she feels with Lena Luthor wrapped around her, and she wonders if Lena also feels this way about her. She drifts off to sleep easily, partially from feeling so worn out and partially because Lena makes her feel warm.

She rouses slowly to the sounds of cooing and gurgles. When she glances to her side she sees Lena sitting up with a baby sitting in her lap. Kara groans as she hoists herself up and watches the baby with awe. Her hair is half dark like Lena's and half blonde like hers-it's Arryn.

"Sorry did we wake you?" Lena asks full of concern.

Kara shakes her head and scoots closer to her. "She's a baby…our baby?"

Lena smiles and nods. "Would you like to hold her?"

"Oh ummm is that ok?" Kara asks, nervous but eager.

"Don't worry this particular baby is almost invincible." Lena teased as she handed Arryn to Kara.

The baby gave Kara a wide, toothless smile and reached for her hair. She managed to grab a lock and Kara winced in anticipation of her pulling it, but it never came. The baby gently played with the lock and then chomped on it, causing Kara to giggle.

"You're so silly!" Kara squeals and decides to use her hair to tickle the baby. "And so cute!"

Lena watches with a forlorn but happy expression and finds herself laughing as well. This is the Kara she had lost long ago, long before she had actually been struck down in battle. Kara kisses the baby on the forehead and her jaw drops when Arryn lifts an eyebrow in response.

"Lena she does your eyebrow thing!" Kara exclaims and beams at Lena, but soon little hands grab her face, directing her attention back to Arryn. She feels the baby float out of her hands a little and then Arryn gently smushes her lips on her forehead. Kara giggles at how sloppy it is and pulls the floating baby back down.

"She likes you," Lena says and leans her head on Kara's shoulder.

"I love her," Kara responds naturally and Lena's breath hitches. "Lena?"

"Sorry… it's nothing." Lena pushes the truth away. "You've met her in your time?"

Kara nods and puts a finger to her chin as she deliberates something. "Rao… no…" she says as she recalls what happened. She hands the baby back to Lena as her insides turn with fear. "Lena there was a man… he…" Kara clasps her mouth. "He had a spear with a kryptonite blade."

"Hey, shhh it's ok," Lena comforts the baby and Kara at the same time. "She'll be ok, I promise."

"But… how can you be sure? It went straight through her…" Kara cries as Arryn's stunned expression flashes in her mind.

Lena frowns and places a chaste kiss on the kryptonian's cheek, "because… she has a natural tolerance to kryptonite. I can explain more later."

Kara nods, finding some comfort in Lena's reassuring gaze, and then pauses again. "Ummm Lena... what if future me sees you in bed with past me?"

Lena winces and looks away from Kara. She doesn't know… Arryn hadn't told her. She looks back at Kara who is giving her an inquisitive look. She leans in without warning and captures Kara's lips. She tastes sweet and feels soft as Lena hungrily nips at her lips. She's not sure if Kara's ever kissed her before, but part of her doesn't care. She knew, no matter what the timeline, Kara would always kiss her back.

She pulls back and smiles softly at the blush crawling up Kara's neck. "Have we not kissed?"

"Once… just barely. It is… my favorite feeling." Kara stammers, her fingers tingling. "Still I doubt my future self would want my past self kissing my wife."

"One kiss and you're ready to get hitched huh?" Lena teases.

"I… guess I just assumed." Kara feels her throat dry with embarrassment.

"We are… or were…" Lena's voice drops. "I'm a widow, Kara."

"Widow?" Kara's heart drops and dread spreads through her. " You mean… I'm dead?"

Lena nods painfully slow and places another kiss on Kara's cheek. "I sent Arryn to change that… I promise I won't let this happen… not again."

"Rao… Lena… I'm so sorry." Kara speaks up once she manages to piece things together.

"Sorry? Kara you've done nothing wrong."

"But…" Kara feels a tear slide down her cheek. "I left you all alone to raise Arryn."

"My love… don't cry, things are already changing. United, we'll stop this future from happening." Lena assures the weeping kryptonian and kisses her tears away. "We should concentrate on getting you back to where you belong."

Before Kara could respond, the babe yawns and snuggles into Lena's chest. Kara stares and feels an overpowering sense of love wash over her. She'd always been rather shy whenever her gaze fell on Lena's chest, but now she feels different. She feels a strong desire to protect the image before her. Kara leans in and captures Lena's lips like she's never done before. It's her first time she's used such command and only feels fueled when Lena's tongue slides along her lips. She returns the gesture and pulls back slowly to look into Lena's eyes.

"I missed you so much, Kara." Lena's voice breaks and Kara kisses her again. It lasts just as long, but this time Lena pulls away. "Let me put her in her crib."

Kara nods as Lena stands and walks away. She looks around and a small box catches her eye. She stands and picks it up; it looks kryptonian. It's engraved with her family crest and there's a kryptonian love poem… one written by her aunt… by Kal-el's mom. She had been an artist, whilst Jor-el had been a scientist… but they both had been dreamers and eventually each other's lovers.

Curiosity overrode her sense of privacy and she opens the box to find a letter at the top of a bunch of other momentos. The letter draws her as she recognizes her handwriting. She pulls it from its envelope and scans the contents.

_Dear Lena,_

_I no longer know how to feel, but I do know that I cannot stay. Together we've fought countless battles; together we've lost and triumphed. United we could face anything, but I will not be a part of this. I told you, begged you, not to go through with it. The fact that you did, regardless of my fears, breaks my heart. What you've done Lena Luthor is create an abomination. _

_You can spin it any way you want, but I will never acknowledge your creation as our child. If anything, you've fashioned a weapon, much like Lex's supermen. You will raise her to fight a battle that is ours to fight… I cannot bear such an atrocity. How can you? _

_I don't have a choice; I cannot stay if you keep it. So I hope you make the right choice. Destroy it. For both our sakes. _

_Kara_

Kara throws the letter on the floor and feels weak in her knees. She feels herself fall back and strong arms catch her before she does. She looks up and sees Lena frowning down at her.

"You… had your reasons, and you weren't necessarily wrong." Lena says and Kara's brow furrows.

"Lena, no… I would never call Arryn an abomination."

"Because you've seen what she will be… in this time you could not take that chance… and…" Lena felt her chest tighten. "Kara this world is very different from yours. It is not a world to bring a child into."

"But Lena… I… I would never leave you."

"Kara," Lena stops her again, "please, don't. I've already lost you. I will lose you again when you go back. I never blamed you for leaving… I knew you would. After all, I did get the idea from Lex, but I do love her Kara… I love Arryn." She let out a soft sob and Kara pulled her into a tight embrace.

"What do you mean you got the idea from Lex."

"Through my research," Lena sniffles, "he creates these supermen but he's poisoned the air with Kryptonite. He controls them through pain and fear. They experience accelerated growth and die after a few years. Arryn… she's the same. She sleeps so much because she's growing so fast. Kara… you left months ago, and died a week ago… Arryn is already 2. I am a monster Kara… you were right to leave me!"

"Lena…" Kara whispers her name as she holds the sobbing woman tightly. "This isn't fair…"

"No I know, I'm so sorry." Lena hiccups.

"No, not you. It's not fair to you."

"Maybe this will change your mind." Lena halts her crying and raises her eyes to meet Kara's. "Kara when you died, I recovered your body… I needed your blood. I was hoping it would slow down Arryn's growth, but," Lena pauses and looks at the ground.

"But what?"

"Your blood was tainted. Bits of Kryptonite that I could not distill… its in both of us. It's what makes her less vulnerable, but it's killing her and…"

"And you." Kara states and this time there's anger in her tone.

Lena remains silent.

"And you, am I right, Lena?" Kara waits a bit longer before pulling Lena away so she can look at her. "Lena tell me!"

"Yes, I injected both of us… and for a time I thought it had worked but it only slowed it down by a bit." Lena sighs, "I obtained powers from my own serum but your blood stabilized them. So see, I'm a monster..."

Kara shakes her head and pulls Lena back to her. "Take it now. Take my blood now that it's clean."

"Kara… no." Lena whimpers. "Kara I can't."

"Please I need you to… don't you understand. If you don't then she'll die… and you…" Kara burrows her head into Lena's soft, black locks. "Please…"

Lena feels Kara's lips press against her earlobe and bites back a throaty moan, the more pressure she applies. Kara relishes the feel of Lena's soft flesh and is immediately addicted to the sound caught in her throat. She drags her lips slowly along Lena's jaw and pulls Lena impossibly closer when she finds her lips. Lena moans as Kara's body crashes into hers.

Lena knows Kara has never done this to her; knows that she hasn't tasted her… ever. She feels Kara's hand roam up her thigh and gasps when she feels her strong hands grasp her ass.

"Rao Lena…" Kara growls. "You feel so good."

"Kara…" Lena moans as the kryptonian ravishes her neck.

"Lena… I… I want you. Now."

* * *

The lab below was designed with the intention of keeping dangerous elements from spreading to the rest of the facilities. If something went wrong, it would be quarantined as would the agents caught on the level-a necessary evil. Lena was reassured by this fact as she studied the glowing green blade in front of her. She had studied a variety of kryptonite and had even managed to recreate the alien substance; that's how she knew this wasn't your run of the mill variety. For one, it had a serial number carved along its edge, so it had been manufactured. Far more alarming was the fact that it emitted ten times the energy a normal kryptonite rock might. Its effects had been amplified...specifically, Lena knew, to kill a kryptonian.

Yet, somehow, Arryn had survived the blow. Lena shook her head as she recalled the very many scars on Arryn's torso… she had survived many blows. With haste she finished her analysis on the composition of the manufactured kryptonite and ran the serial number through a decoder. If it was a message, she would know it within an hour or two.

"Lena, please report to the med bay, immediately." Alex's voice rung clearly over the intercom.

Lena hurried through the halls and up the elevator. She rounded the corner and was relieved to see Arryn sitting up in her bed. She offered a soft smile as she took a seat by the worn out youth.

"How are you feeling?"

"Well considering I was stabbed with future kryptonite, I'd say I'm doing just fine." Arryn smirked momentarily but it faded quickly. "You saw, didn't you?" Arryn rolled her head on the pillow to look at Lena.

Lena gulped, "yes… your scars."

Arryn sighed and closed her eyes. She was hoping her mother would be spared that visual. The girl knew her mother was prone to holding herself accountable, even if she wasn't exactly sure how it had happened. "It's not your fault, just so you know. I fought topside a lot even when you forbade me. We're actually very lucky that the grade of kryptonite used in that blade wasn't as lethal as the stuff I'm used to."

"What?" Lena's heart jumped into her throat. "I just finished analyzing it; it's stronger than anything I've ever seen."

Arryn offered her mother a sympathetic smile. "It gets worse."

"Oh good you're here and you're awake," Alex walked in with a man who seemed keen on staring at Arryn with an inquisitive brow. "I've bought Brainy to go over some possible solutions to retrieving Kara."

"So this is she?" Brainy asked and took a step closer to the bed-ridden youth. "The time anomaly that claims to be the spawn of Lena Luthor and Supergirl."

"Aren't you supposed to be blue?" Arryn disregarded his description of her.

"Ah, yes," he said as he turned off his device and reverted to his alien form. "Your mother made these clever inventions to cloak aliens in human guises. It has proven quite useful… especially when retrieving pizza."

Arryn chuckled, "you are just like I thought you would be."

"That is good, I think. I did read the few entries that mentioned me from your journal."

Alex whipped her head to glare at Brainy but it was too late; he had already let the cat out of the bag.

"My journal?" Arryn raised her brow.

"Here," Alex handed the girl the item in question. "It appeared yesterday on my lap from seemingly out of nowhere. I let Lena look through it and Brainy to analyze it for any clues. There's an entry at the very end that I'd like you to look at."

Arryn received it with a tentative expression. She had left this behind, stashed in her secret place… had her mother found it? It was a piece of her she wanted to bury; a piece she felt would only hold her back. She smoothed the cover over with her thumb and remembered when she had first received it. It had been a gift when she was very small, but writing had come naturally. She flipped to her last entry and swallowed hard… it felt like only yesterday that she wrote this, and already she had failed.

"I don't understand what am I supposed to…"

"The next page," Alex explained with a soft expression.

"But," Arryn protested even as she flipped to the next. "This… it's…"

"My handwriting," Lena gasped.

"Dearest daughter…" Arryn read and everyone hung on her next words.

_Dearest daughter,_

_Is it everything you dreamt of? I hope you've flown in blue skies and tasted the fresh, crisp air that was once abundant-a far cry from the smog we've flown in. And no doubt you've met some of the people I used to tell you bedtime stories of. I'm sorry I never told you about Kara Danvers… it was so hard to remember the woman I loved with everything I had to give. You see… Kara died long before Supergirl ever did. As you know, in the cruel world you grew up in, there was no place for cardigans or bumbling reporters, only people of steel and fire. _

_What I'm about to tell you next might break your heart, little one. But you are strong and you are surrounded by people who already love you. When I created you, it was against Supergirl's wishes. I hadn't always planned to send you back in time; I wanted to make a savior… someone who could deliver us from my brother's madness. In Supergirl's words, I had created a weapon to fight our battle. I used the same technology that Lex uses to make his supermen… but you are not the same. _

_I loved you as my own, but she… well she could not. I was forced to make a choice and I chose you, Arryn. I will always choose you. Supergirl had her reasons, but if I were to boil it down to one, it would be that she was afraid. She did not know who you would become and she hated the thought of forcing you to live in the dark world that consumed her. She left and fought to the very end… and I stayed behind to love and raise you. When she died, my heart would have shattered had it not been for you. _

_While Supergirl may have never loved you, Kara did. Time travel is a funny thing; I'm never sure what came first. In your second year, she stumbled through a time vortex and back into our lives. She was the same blushing, stammering, sunny girl that made my heart flutter every time I looked into her sky blue eyes. She stayed by our side for 30 days, 7 hours and 24 minutes. She held you, played with you, and sang you horrible N'Sync inspired lullabies (which you loved). You may not remember but she was the one who actually gave you this journal. But her last gift to the both of us, before she returned, was her clean blood, without which we would have both died from the kryptonite poisoning. So, little one, be strong and prevail... Save her. Save us all. _

_Love,_

_Mother_

_P.S. Your memory cube has an easter egg. A collection of moments from Kara's time spent here in the future. Press all six sides and say "Kara Danvers"... it's an all access file, so everyone can see._

Arryn finished reading and saw her tears fall on her shirt before she had even felt how wet her cheeks were. She felt her heart lurch in multiple directions and she suddenly felt the need to disappear. She closed her eyes and curled into a ball as her lungs filled with an unending ache. The cry she unleashed was pain and sorrow and understanding all mixed into one. She felt firm arms wrap around her and was pulled to cry into their chest. She felt another pair of arms envelope her from the other side-Alex. Her mother was right… if Kara were here she'd be hugging her too; she was surrounded by people who already loved her.

Her sobs winded down, turning into sniffles and with shaky hands she reached for her necklace. She touched all six sides and whispered "Kara Danvers" before it started to glow. Everyone's eyes went wide as multiple images materialized before them. Kara holding a tiny baby Arryn that was content eating Kara's golden locks. Kara floating with a sleeping baby Arryn nestled in her chest. Another of Kara holding Lena from behind as the baby kissed her mother's cheek. More flooded and it became apparent that Arryn was older in some. They were all such joyous, sweet, loving images that Arryn found herself tearing up yet again. When the images stopped, Arryn took a deep breath and collected her emotions before exhaling.

"She… she really did love me." Arryn whispered, afraid that she would disappear any second now. "I… I know what I have to do now." She smiled and glanced at Lena. "I will bring her back, but… I'll need to fully recover."

"Of course," Lena murmured, still dazed by the images. "Arryn… are you ok now? Or are you still?"

Arryn shook her head. "I think Kara's blood stabilized my growth. Lex's supermen expire after 3 years; the newer ones in 5… I've definitely been alive for a lot longer than that."

Alex smiled and let out a sigh of relief. "I'm sorry that I doubted you… I know I can be a hard ass…"

Arryn chuckled and looked at the forlorn agent, "and yet you were the person I knew I could ask for help. You should've seen the news vids of you in the future. I picked up my sarcasm from a lot of your speeches."

"No wonder you know how to get on my nerves," Alex jested and gave Arryn a tight hug before returning to Brainy's side. "Alright, well you're welcome to stay here at the DEO… but with Kara gone, she'll need someone to water her plants; it actually might be best if both of you stayed there. It's easier for the DEO to surveillance."

Lena nodded and took Arryn's hand in hers. Everything was changing, at a pace that should have wracked her mind and heart with doubt, but just looking at Arryn's green, blue eyes kept those feelings at bay. This was her reality and she would fight to save the woman she had fallen for and the daughter they shared.


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: Hello all you lovely people! Thank you so much for the views and reviews :)

This chapter was a little hard to write... but I promise brighter days are coming... right after darker, maelstrom-like ones. Just kidding... sorta. I mean I think angst just accidentally comes out when I start typing regardless of what I'm trying to do. Anyhow, I really appreciate your input.

**Chapter 4: All Things Super**

As Alex turned the knob to Kara's apartment, she hoped to god her sister hadn't left her clothes thrown about her bed like the last time she had come in unannounced. They entered the cozy loft and Arryn was a bit jarred at the difference between her mother's place and Kara's. She zoomed around and observed the very many strange things her kryptonian mother seemed to enjoy surrounding herself with. Paints and canvas were in a corner by the window, plants adorned various nooks and crannies, blankets were thrown over comfortable looking chairs and couches, and there were so many colors that somehow all came together. Lena chuckled, recalling how Arryn had methodically walked around her apartment, whilst here she was zooming from one end of the room to the other.

Arryn zoomed into Kara's room and found herself transfixed on a photo framed on the wall. Alex walked up behind her and glanced at the picture before speaking.

"That would be your uncle of sorts… Superman."

"Superman…" Arryn repeated. "Is he still alive? And why does he get pants?"

"Can't really answer that, but yes he's alive; he's one of earth's greatest heroes." Alex mulled on a thought before continuing, "maybe he can drop by; it'd be good to get his take on all this."

"Is that wise?" Lena interrupted from Kara's bedroom entrance. "While he's not too hostile towards me, I'm not sure he'd exactly celebrate the union of a Luthor and a Super."

"I think it's best if we all start to work together. The fact of the matter is there are good and bad Luthors, like there are good and bad Supers." Alex sighed… she had killed Astra, Kara's blood relative, what seemed like ages ago.

"Can I see vids?" Arryn asked, curious to see what her uncle was like.

"Yeah, there's a bunch of stuff online, which reminds me," Alex said and pulled out a sleek phone from her pocket. "This is yours. Brainy made it so it isn't your run of the mill phone."

Arryn took the device and marveled at the smooth screen. She clicked the side button and watched as it scanned her face for verification. She smiled wide when it unlocked and looked at Alex excitedly.

"It has the youtube!" She exclaimed and gave Alex a hug. "Thank you!"

"Anytime," Alex wheezed, "but I'd appreciate not being crushed to death."

"Oh, right, sorry!" Arryn relaxed her grip and then looked down at her clothes. She had been given some scratchy DEO shirt and some weird pants. She zoomed to Kara's drawers and pilfered them before anyone could stop her. "Oh my Rao…." Arryn gasped as she pinched some rather lacey garments. "This is what she's wearing under her skirt? Under her cardigans and khakis?" The girl shrieked and raised them to the lightfor better observation. "What kind of tactical support would these enable? How do you even move in these? Can you even move in these?"

Lena's face flushed as Alex's paled; neither had any idea that Kara wore such risque lingerie. Lena was further mortified that Arryn returned to rummaging through the drawer and pulled out even more shocking undergarments. Of all the ways she had imagined seeing Kara's underwear, this had definitely not made the list. Swiftly she made her way towards the youth, shoved Kara's unmentionables back into the drawer and slid it shut.

"Let's not invade her privacy more than we already have," Lena sighed and then opened the drawer Kara usually went to when Lena needed a change of comfy clothes for their movie nights. "Here, this should do."

"Fine, I'll just ask her about the advantages of such gear when she returns." Arryn conceded, missing the horrified expressions on both Alex and Lena's face. "Maybe it's a kryptonian thing… I've never seen such things. Fascinating," Arryn mumbled to herself after she superspun into the comfy clothes and headed to the TV room.

Alex cleared her throat. "I will not be here for that conversation. Anyways, call me if you need anything. I have a few agents on patrol, and Brainy is monitoring for any rips in the time space continuum."

"Sounds good…" Lena spoke softly, in a bit of a shock.

"Don't you dare rifle through that drawer when I leave." Alex threatened as she eyed Lena warily.

"I would never!" Lena shot back and crossed her arms. "I'm not some teenage boy with a penchant for panties."

"You never know with you genius types." Alex jested as she walked away from Lena's glare. "I'll drop by tomorrow; maybe Clark will join us for breakfast."

Kara rests in the dark, barely recouping from the waves of pleasure that had crashed over her body. Her muscles flex as she positions herself to pull Lena closer to her chest. She's always enjoyed spooning, but it's never felt as perfect as it does now with Lena's smooth skin against hers. The brunette mumbles as she burrows into Kara's radiating warmth, causing the blonde to bite back a moan as Lena's bottom grinds against her. In all her life, she's never been able to let go like she had just now. Even with Mon-el it hadn't been this… intense. No, nothing could compare to being able to be with Lena without any restraints. Then a thought hits her… was this considered cheating? Her heart races and she panics. Lena shifts in her arms and turns to face her kryptonian lover; her green eyes looking at her with pure concern.

"My love, what troubles you?"

"It's just… this is going to sound dumb, but," Kara falters as she composes her thoughts. "Would this be considered cheating?"

Lena knits her eyebrows together before they relax and she smirks. Of course her pure-hearted kryptonian would feel conflicted. She gently caresses Kara's face and leaves a chaste kiss on the corner of her lips.

"I suppose I am not your Lena," she begins but stops when Kara tightens her hold on her.

"All Lena's are my Lena's." Kara mutters in a tone mixed with bashfulness and pride.

Lena chuckles, "then all Kara's are my Kara's. I have a feeling, my past self won't mind one bit." She plants a quick kiss on Kara's nose. "In fact, she'll be pleased you know all her favorite spots."

Kara blushes bright red but Lena can see how her normally light blue eyes, grow darker with wanton desire. She smirks as her hand glides down her neck, across her breast, reaching down lower until her fingers find their destination.

"Just like I'm about to teach you all of yours."

Lena spent the entire night observing Arryn's reactions to youtube videos that featured both Supergirl and Superman. It was strange, thought Lena; although Arryn was delighted to see the Supers in action, she seemed confused. After watching a fan video that consisted of mash ups of Kara saving animals from unfathomably high places, Arryn paused and glanced at Lena.

"This is what heroes do?" Arryn asked.

"Kara has a soft spot for animals," Lena explained. "She helps all who need her."

"So… heroes do not fight wars? Are there no wars here?" Arryn raised a brow.

"No… well, there are wars, but… heroes can't simply choose sides." Lena contested.

Arryn tilted her head to the side and peered ahead in concentration, "but… normal humans do?"

Lena sighed, "many of us get dragged into someone else's decision, and we try to do what's right with what we're given."

"That sounds more realistic… more like the world I know." Arryn looked back at the video. "These vids are very different from what I've seen." The girl laid back into the couch. "In my vids I saw Supergirl set fire to the sky… and she never smiled."

"That sounds frightening." Lena responded, shuddering at the thought of a Kara who didn't smile.

"It was actually comforting," Arryn admitted as she glanced at Lena. "In a world teeming with darkness, she seemed like a steel wall that would keep it at bay. It's why I never suspected Kara to be Supergirl… it's also why I couldn't tell Supergirl right away that I was from the future. I thought maybe there might be another one...one with pants." the girl muttered and crossed her arms. "But… if my journal is right, Supergirl, the one from my time, didn't even want me. I'm a fool for idolizing her."

"You're not a fool, and fear makes even the strongest of us fall."

Arryn let out a hum, not quite in agreement or disagreement with her mother. "At least you never stopped loving me… even if I cost you the love of your life."

Lena took the girl's hand in hers and gave it a squeeze, "Arryn, it wasn't you… it was that world. You saw how Kara… a Kara free of that world, loved you as a baby. I didn't want to push you so soon after being attacked, but I do want to know about Lex's supermen. I won't let that future come to fruition."

"You sound so sure," Arryn smiled and took comfort in her hand being held. "You've always been strong."

Lena snorted out a derisive chuckle through sheer habit. Her, strong? She definitely knew how to wear masks of strength, how to stand tall when everyone was holding their breath for the moment she'd fail, but true strength… that always seemed to elude her. True strength required her to trust others wholeheartedly… she was barely grasping that.

"Thank you, Arryn," Lena responded softly and pulled the girl in for a hug. "Now let's get some sleep. We might have to meet with another Super tomorrow."

Arryn fell asleep comfortably on Kara's bed, but Lena couldn't bring herself to follow suit. She had always slept on the couch if she stayed over; sleeping on the blonde's bed now seemed sacrilegious. She lay awake through the night and wondered how Kara was faring in the future. They had just confessed their feelings and secrets, and now they were timelines apart… it was natural that she felt slightly frustrated by the timing of it all. However, Lena was thankful that this brief interlude also gave her some time to sift through her feelings and thoughts. She had gone from a woman pining over her best friend, who happened to be a Super, to said best friend's future wife and mother of a half kryptonian child… it was more than enough to knock her off center. Even though it was overwhelming, Lena smiled-she wouldn't trade it for the world.

The next morning, Arryn super cleaned everything and was amazed how many small things Kara owned. There were little books, little magnets, tiny rings and the occasional paintbrush scattered in the strangest of spots. Her mother had been meticulous about their living space, and kept it as nice and tidy as an underground dwelling could be. How had she managed this scattered kryptonian? By the time Lena rose, Arryn had already put coffee on the table.

"Alex is here… with some nerdy guy that's not Brainy," Arryn yawned and went to open the door.

Lena raised both her brows when Alex and Clark entered, and she wished she had told Arryn that Superman also had a human identity like Kara did. She observed as the fair man smiled humbly at the mismatched youth.

"Arryn this is Clark."

"Hello" the girl shook the man's hand and then glanced at Alex, and said "is he your boyfriend? I was fairly sure mother said you were gay…" she paused and her eyes went wide, "oh Rao, unless of course, you haven't figured that out yet. I'm so sorry!" Arryn groaned and hated how tricky being displaced was.

"Arryn, no…" Alex stammered. "He's…"

"Another one of mother's ex-boyfriends?" Arryn shrieked and threw her mother an accusatory stare. "I mean I guess he does give off some Kara vibes what with his glasses and nerdy clothes, but come on…"

"Wrong again," Lena sighed and put a hand to her head. She really should have seen this coming.

"Oh… alright then. You've just bought a random stranger to breakfast then?" Arryn cocked her head to the side. "And here I was expecting my super somewhat uncle to drop by… I guess he's busy saving animals and humans. What can I do for you puny human?"

Alex's jaw dropped and Lena stifled a laugh; the Man of Steel looked completely flabbergasted by the girl's complete attack on his appearance.

"Well, I was hoping to meet the future daughter of my cousin… I also go by Kal-el."

Arryn's eyes went wide and she stumbled backwards. It was happening again. She looked at Lena for reassurance, and once receiving her nod, she looked back at Clark with a sheepish expression.

"You… what is it with kryptonians and looking like that?" She signaled to all of Clark with a free hand.

Clark chuckled, "it's meant to throw people off."

"You guys could have warned me." Arryn muttered, refusing to take her eyes off the floor. There would seemingly never be a day when she wouldn't put her foot in her mouth after meeting a kryptonian.

"Where would be the fun in that?" Alex teased and then threw an arm around Arryn's shoulders. "He even grew up on a farm, raised by puny humans…"

"Rao… with cows and tractors and weird golden cubes called hay?" Arryn looked up and gazed upon the man with renewed wonder. She had read about farms and the animals that were common to them.

Clark laughed heartily at the girl's fascination and could easily see a younger Kara in her eyes. They had the same twinkle she used to get when something on Earth interested her. He had found it endearing when Kara usually used everyday items in unorthodox ways or how she often described those items in strangely reverent terms.

"Just the sort," Clark smiled. "I hear you're not from around these parts."

"I am from Earth… just a very different one." Arryn smirked and stood tall, "I also grew things in dirt, with my mother."

"Is that so?" Clark asked, intrigued by her demeanor. He hadn't known what to expect when Alex had called him at such an ungodly hour with an unbelievable tale of a time-traveling kryptonian child. A child that was supposedly the offspring of his cousin, Kara, and Lex's sister, Lena. He wasn't going to lie, it unnerved him to some degree, but not because he didn't approve of Lena. It was Lex's influence he feared.

"Yes, but… it would have been nice to have a cow, or a goat... or a horse!" Arryn grew excited the more she thought about it. "I could have made one too, if only mother had let me use the lab to do so… but noooo, she said that was a waste of energy," Arryn grew animated with her hands, "and then she said, if I did make a cow, all it would be good for was to make hamburgers." Arryn pouted, "do you know what a hamburger is? It's a cow… packaged into a strange circle and put in between bread!" She answered with clear disgust.

"You know… Kara actually eats a lot of hamburgers."

Arryn's face paled as she pictured Kara eating a little circle patty with bread that occasionally went moo.

"No way… she… she must not know."

Lena laughed and went beside Arryn to take her hand. "Darling, it's ok… your other mother is a carnivore, but I have introduced her to a few more vegetables since being able to choose our lunch location."

"Guess she's not as innocent as I formerly believed," Arryn assessed with a contemplative expression.

Clark chuckled; he could see both Lena and Kara in her, it was magnificent to behold. "I brought some breakfast tacos, I thought we could eat and discuss our game plan."

Arryn perked up at the mention of food and quickly caught on to the delicious aroma that was coming from the large brown bag that Clark was holding. She zoomed over to take the bag, but he was quicker and held it at arm's length.

"But first I need a promise."

All three woman gave him a quizzical brow.

"I need you to promise me that you are here to do good, Arryn Zor-el."

"Arryn Zor-el Luthor," Arryn corrected him. "And no."

Everyone held their breath as Arryn prepped to speak again.

"I'm not here to do good, Kal-el… I'm here to save the world." Arryn wore a sad smile. "I can't save kittens, or go take pictures with children in some snazzy uniform, or have a nerdy disguise… I'm fighting a war and I've chosen my side. I'm not a hero like you and Kara."

There it is, thought Clark. The part that was neither Kara or Lena, but Arryn all her own. He had heard bits and pieces of the future from what Alex had gathered, and recognized it immediately. Lex had always had a vision; one that often kept him up at night. He had known about it long before Lex had fully transformed into the monster he was now, but he could do nothing but counter him throughout the years. This girl… she was the product of Lex's plans coming to fruition, of his inability to stop him, and she had grown up in a world shrouded in darkness. Because of that he knew he would never fully understand her.

He smiled softly and handed Arryn the paper bag. "Well then, you're going to need all the tacos you can get."

Lena smiled wide as she blinked back tears; she hadn't been sure how Clark would react to Arryn's words. Arryn also wore a sheepish smile as she took the bag of food, but quickly made her way to the kitchen island to unpack whatever it was that smelled so heavenly. The three watched as she devoured taco after taco and pulled out their phones.

Alex: Are you guys going to tell her?

Clark: I couldn't…

Lena: I don't have the heart…

"Oh my Rao, what is this wonderful stringy, juicy vegetable?"

"Uhhh… well it's brisket." Alex confessed.

"Brisket is my favorite vegetable!" Arryn exclaimed and continued eating happily.

Alex: we're all going to pay for this…

Lena and Clark nodded but said nothing more.

Clark spent most of the day relaying to Arryn the details of his upbringing, deciding to hold off on forcing the girl to spill the gruesome details of her former reality. He could tell she was enjoying being surrounded by others and that she was not used to it. Twice she had shifted into a battle pose when a dump truck, in the alley below, deposited its spoils into its ravenous bin. She was alert constantly even when she appeared to be at rest; it pained Clark to see her so attuned to a world at war. Before Alex and Clark left, he promised to visit with Lois, who, he assured her, had even better stories than he did.

Night fell quickly and the two gave in easily to sleep. Arryn shifted in the sheets, feeling a strange pull that bid her to open her eyes. Before she adjusted her vision to the dark, she could hear a soft swooshing sound and was alarmed by the dim glowing light coming from the kitchen. She super sped to her mother, who was still sleeping peacefully on the couch.

"Mother, mother," Arryn kept her voice low as she nudged Lena awake.

"Arryn?" Lena groggily came to. She glanced to her right and saw the makings of a vortex above Kara's dining table.

"Stay here," Arryn commanded and then went towards the opening portal.

"Arryn, no!" Lena reached out, but found herself blinded by the intense brightness.

Arryn was cautious in her approach, ready for another assailant to break through. She reached out to pass through and then flinched back… what if this pulled her in and she was never able to get back on her own? She would never see the world before Lex again. Fear consumed her, yet something bade her to push further.

_Fear can make even the strongest of us fall._

That's what her mother had told her. She clenched her jaw and squeezed herself through the vortex midways; she knew that in itself was a bad decision. If it shut suddenly she risked the chance of being severed in half. However, that was the least of her concerns as she reached out and touched someone she had only ever seen in vids. She lay there battered, bruised and bleeding… a mess of blonde hair splashed on the pavement.

"Arryn come back!" She could hear Lena calling to her from the other side.

"But I found Supergirl!" She shouted back.

"Come back!" Lena's voice was getting distant.

"But… but she has pants…" Arryn stammered as she observed the figure some more.

A shot of green scraped her shoulder, causing her to hiss and look up at her assailant. A good number of Lex's supermen had surrounded her. Quickly she grabbed the unconscious Kryptonian and used all her strength to pull her back through the vortex. She grunted as she felt her back crash into Kara's wooden floors and thanked Rao as the vortex disappeared, leaving the apartment in complete darkness.

Lena scrambled to turn on a nearby lamp and then gasped at what she found.

"Arryn that's…" Lena's voice trembled as she knelt down.

"Supergirl...from my time." Arryn stated with awe. "She's hurt, but not too bad… we should clean her up."

"Lex… we were unable to confirm her death." A man clad in a dark gray uniform reported.

"I was told she was pinned to the ground, unconscious and vulnerable…" Lex hissed, "so how could she not be dead?"

"She was… taken."

"Again, she was surrounded."

"Through a rip in space," the soldier clarified.

Lex growled, "regardless, she is dead to this world. I need you to dispose a body from the failed prototype. The rebellion's hope _will_ die today."

"Yes, sir; I will do so at once." The soldier bowed and took his leave.

Lex sat in silence, his green eyes calculating his next move.

"I think it's best that I go stay with Alex," Arryn mentioned as she wiped a smudge of soot from Supergirl's face with a wet towel. "She'll take to you a lot easier without me around."

"No, I won't let her drive us apart."

Arryn shook her head, "that's not what I'm afraid of. I at least knew I was time traveling, but she has no idea where or when she is. If I had not known what this world was, I would have thought it a cruel trick." She wiped Supergirl's face again and wore a sad smile, "she's going to be angry and scared and shocked. She needs to see only you."

"But Arryn…"

"I'll be fine, promise." Arryn smiled. "I'm going to go get more brisket tacos and take them to Alex."

She pulled her mother in for a tight hug and then flew away. Lena sighed and returned to Kara's bedside. She looked over the Kryptonian and wondered if she really would be comforted by her presence; from all the evidence so far, Lena wasn't even sure this Kara would accept her. While she was lost in her own worries, she failed to notice a change in Kara's breathing. In a violent turn of events, Lena found herself pinned to a wall, Kara's hand wrapped neatly around her throat.

"K..ara...st..op." Lena gasped as she grabbed onto Kara's arm.

The Kryptonian recognized the voice and gently lowered her, easing her grip, but she did not remove her hand from Lena's neck. "How dare you intervene, Lena."

"Kara, let go." Lena demanded, her voice shaking.

"Where are we?" Kara ignored her command and glanced around. "So now you've fashioned one of your dungeon rooms into a replication of my old loft…" Kara spat, "how far will you go? When will you wake up to reality? When will you realize we can never go back? You can't just keep creating things to fix this!" She clenched her jaw and let go of Lena.

She walked to the living room and faltered in her step.

"You must think of this place often to have gotten so many of the details right." Kara spoke in a cold tone Lena had never thought the girl capable of. "I have done my best to forget…don't you realize-"

The Kryptonian was about to turn and face Lena when she caught sight of the one thing that no Luthor could ever replicate. On the horizon, a thin golden line burned in the distance and Kara immediately fell to her knees. The sun rose slowly and only then did Lena feel strong enough to approach the stunned kryptonian.

"Kara…" her voice was small.

"Lena..." Kara looked to the woman beside her and her eyes widened at the bruises already appearing on her neck. "Oh Rao… what have I done?" She bit back her sob, but when Lena pulled her in she couldn't fight back the tears.

Lena held Kara as her body shook, and shushed her as she combed through her hair. Arryn had been right, but nothing could have prepared Lena for that. The sun rose higher and Kara took deep breaths as she regained control of her cries.

"Lena...I'm sorry, I shouldn't have," Kara whimpered. "What's happening?"

"You… you've gone back in time." Lena whispered gently as she nestled into Kara's hair. "The Kara from now has gone forward."

"What year is it?" Kara asked.

"2019… are you alright?" Lena rubbed the girl's back.

2019, thought Kara… she still hadn't confessed her feelings or identity, at least not that she recalled. Yet, Lena had definitely called her Kara.

"Kara?" Lena cupped her face and looked into her eyes. She could see pain, mistrust and fear swirl within the blue of Kara's eyes. She wasn't sure what took over, but what happened next felt as natural and inevitable as the sun rising. She pressed her lips gently against Kara's, nipping as Kara reciprocated her affection.

Kara pulled Lena closer so that the Luthor was basically straddling her lap. She deepened the kiss, languishing in the taste of the woman she had separated from. She pushed for more but then stopped when she heard Lena whimper. Kara had accidentally touched her bruise. The Kryptonian frowned and tenderly placed a kiss on the flesh she had marred.

"I've hurt you," Kara murmured.

"An unfortunate accident," Lena responded and tucked one of Kara's blonde strands behind her ear.

"No, Lena I hurt you in the future too." Kara admitted as she glanced up at Lena. She couldn't believe how lovingly the woman was looking at her. "I don't deserve your love."

Lena smiled sadly, "I know about the future, and… I love you anyways."

"Have I died?" Kara looked around, looking for some sign of ethereal intervention.

"I assure you, you haven't." Lena smiled but then blushed when she felt Kara grope her ass. "Kara!"

"What?" Kara withdrew her hands and then scanned the area for danger, but saw nothing that posed a threat. She looked at Lena and noticed how red her face was. "Do you have a fever?" She placed her hand on her forehead, "you're a bit warm."

"It's not that… it's...the way you," Lena muttered, realizing this was probably something Kara was used to doing with her future self. Still, her Kara had never touched her like that. "We only just confessed our feelings a few days ago."

"Oh, have we never…" Kara smirked, "I see." She chuckled. "You'll find that I am obsessed with all of you, but I am particularly fond of doing that… and it's been so long since I last..." she trailed off as she subconsciously licked her lips.

Lena found herself thrilled at the sight of Kara's dark, lustful gaze, but knew she wasn't going to be able to just jump right in. She scarcely believed Kara could love her, much less make love to her, but seeing this future version of herself dashed all her doubts. Kara wanted her more than she probably knew.

"I'm not ready…" Lena murmured; slightly embarrassed. She had always imagined herself to be the initiator and dominator the first time around.

She looked down, afraid to see the disappointment in Kara's eyes. Then she felt soft lips press against her forehead and when she was brave enough to look up, Lena was surprised to see Kara smiling warmly at her.

"I'm sorry, I probably haven't even taken you on a proper date, or anything…" Kara muttered, disgusted by her own insensitivity. "You're as beautiful as ever," Kara eyed one of her university t-shirts on Lena and smiled, "I wish I could sit here and look at you forever."

Lena was stunned at the sheer love with which Kara looked at her with. With that much love how had she ever left her future self? Then the kryptonian's stomach grumbled and all sense of romance and severity flew out the window. Lena laughed as the kryptonian tried to play it off.

"Some things about you never change, Kara Danvers." Lena chuckled and rose from the floor. "Why don't you change and we'll go get some food."

Kara smiled and used her superspeed to not only change herself but to change Lena as well. When she was done, Lena's jaw fell and the blush rising up her neck was completely missed by the kryptonian, who had taken Lena's hand in her own and looked eager to leave.

"Kara… did you just?" Lena stammered as her thoughts whirled in multiple directions. Had Kara just undressed her and redressed her? "Nevermind, let's just go."

Walking down the street, Lena came to a conclusion. All her life she never understood why couples seemed so fixated on holding hands; it always seemed so juvenile and mundane. But holding Kara's hand was anything but. When the sidewalk got a little more crowded, Lena audibly gasped when Kara let go of her hand and wrapped an arm around her waist. She glanced up at Kara and found herself breaking out into a smile when she saw how wide the girl's grin was-she was happy.

"My love, can we go to Russo's for breakfast?" Kara asked as they neared the establishment.

Lena's heart skipped a beat. She held on tighter to the Kryptonian before responding, 'yes." Then she remembered what had happened the day before and rephrased her answer. "I mean, no… they're doing staff training today. Let's head to the Rose Garden instead."

"That's also a good spot," Kara sighed; she had wanted to take Lena to the place where they had first confessed their feelings.

"I'm sorry if I keep thwarting your desires," Lena responded a little while after.

"You aren't," Kara assured her and kissed her cheek. "I'm just caught up in old memories. I was happiest with you… in this time."

Lena bit her lip as she contemplated Kara's words. She wanted to tell her about Arryn, about her future self's plans to rewrite it, but she couldn't. Kara wasn't ready to hear about any of those things. When they were served at Rose Garden, Kara devoured several plates and Lena wondered how her future self had ever managed to feed Arryn with limited resources. Afterwards, they walked around National City Park while Lena informed Kara what was going on with everyone at this point in time. For the most part Kara would just hum and nod, her usually expressive face, stoic and controlled. While it concerned Lena to see Kara so detached, she was also being thrown off by how much Kara touched her. Subconsciously Kara would rub circles in her palm if they were holding hands, or if Kara decided to hold her by the waist, she would also somehow play with the hem of her pants.

They stopped in front of the park's lake and shared a moment of silence. Lena glanced to see Kara looking wistfully into the water and wished mind reading was one of her gifts.

"Do you mind if we sit on the bench for a bit?" Kara's voice was soft.

"I don't mind at all," Lena replied and led the way to an empty park bench.

They sat and again silence seemed intent on blanketing over them. Lena glanced at their joined hands and grew uneasy when Kara withdrew her to rest on her own lap. The kryptonian let out a deep sigh as she tilted her head back and looked up at the midday sky.

"I'm not her you know?" Kara spoke up.

"What do you mean?" Lena asked.

"The girl you fell in love with… I'm not her." Kara stated matter-of-factly. "I wish I was."

"Kara…" Lena's voice trembled. "As long as you're Kara, I couldn't not love you."

Kara turned to her with a sad smile, "that's just it, I'm Supergirl… not Kara. I'm not the same optimistic, clumsy, naive girl you love… I'm hardened, different...more aware."

Lena pinched her lips, "do you still love me?" Lena asked and held her woeful gaze.

"I…" Kara looked down, "I'm not sure…when we first started dating, I was so enthralled with your existence. I was amazed that I had somehow caught the attention of someone so smart, beautiful and kind. I was so in love with you, that I always took you at your word… only now am I detached enough to know when you're hiding something like you are now. This might have been my reality at some point, but it was still a fantasy… a time when I could afford to trust you."

Lena froze; Kara's gaze was cold, steady and tactical.

"Detached, huh?" Lena smirked and leaned back from the kryptonian. "You're right… the Kara I knew would never have pinned me to a wall, bruising my neck in the process, she'd never look at me the way you're looking at me now."

A brief flash of regret passed on Kara's face as she glanced at the scarf she had thrown on Lena.

"The Kara I knew wouldn't be such a selfish, mistrustful asshole." Lena hissed and stood from the bench. "All you can see is your hurt, your confusion… your loneliness." She chuckled bitterly as she glanced back at Supergirl. "If you think it's strength that's leading you, you're mistaken. You're afraid. Supergirl… and that fear has corroded your heart as it has for years now."

"What do you know about fear?" Kara shot back. "Have you ever woken up to green-tinged skies that would melt your lungs if you ever inhaled it directly? Have you ever seen thousands of bodies piled in the streets, to be picked up by Luthor Corp vehicles… bodies of…" Kara paused as her mind flashed with a violent, bright red and black spots began to create pockets in her vision. "Clark… his body…" Kara tried to draw breath but came short each time, feeling the burning sensation of the kryptonite-filled air.

She slid off the bench and Lena hurried to her side. Kara had curled into a ball and shut her eyes tight as she struggled to breath.

"Piles of bodies…" Kara gasped as her chest constricted painfully.

"Kara…" Lena pulled the woman into her lap, cradling her in her arms. "Shhh, I'm sorry, but you're safe here… you're safe here, I promise." She wiped the tears that were pouring out of Kara's eyes. "Just breath, slowly…. Easy." She rubbed Kara's back, and took deep breaths so that Kara could follow suit. "Breath."

Lena began to hum an old tune she had often used to console herself as a child. She hadn't known until much later that the tune was actually an irish folk song that had most likely been hummed to her by her mother. Lillian had loathed it, and once when she had caught Lena humming it at the dinner table, the woman had been cruel enough to apply the seeds from a dried chile to her lips. It had burned for hours. She hummed it now, because regardless of Lillian's abuse, the melody still brought her peace. Kara's breathing became more steady, but it wasn't long before the girl was wracked with grief. She sobbed and burrowed her face into Lena's blouse.

"That song… oh Lena, how?" Kara whispered as her crying settled down. "How did you keep yourself…. after everything that happened? You… you stayed the same, but I… I couldn't be Kara and Supergirl, not in that world. I don't know who I am anymore… all I can keep doing is fight a losing war. I thought..." Kara choked on her own words. "When I closed my eyes during this last battle, I thought for sure I was going to die and I….I was ready for it."

"Oh, Kara…" Lena murmured as she rocked the weeping kryptonian in her arms. "Let's go home, come on."

Lena's driver was swift in picking them up, and once they were back in Kara's apartment, she knew she needed to unpack everything Kara had just told her. Kara curled on the edge of her sofa where a ray of sunshine was hitting directly. Lena sat next to her and debated whether to hold her or give her space.

"Lena… what if I'm broken?" Kara mumbled as she burrowed into her throw pillow. "I'm always so… angry. Sometimes I wonder if it's only green kryptonite that Lex released into the air. But I think… deep down, I'm just..."

"Kara… do you know who you're speaking to?" Lena spoke softly. "Before you came along, before I made friends here in National City, I wasn't the nicest person. I thought I couldn't be. I thought if I let my walls down, I would get hurt…" Lena sighed, "and I did."

Kara glanced at Lena, her eyes full of concern.

"Falling in love with you was painful." Lena chuckled sardonically, "it was so hard seeing you in my office, smiling with a bag of takeout as Kara Danvers, and later that night you'd be fist to fist with one of my mother's goons or worse… when the Queen of Daxam invaded and you lost Mon-el... " Lena took a deep breath. "I watched you fall apart, I watched as you tried to make Kara Danvers disappear…"

She tugged Kara's sleeve, hoping she would get closer to her. Kara pushed herself up and took Lena's hand in her own. She knew a lot about her wife, but this story wasn't one she had heard.

"It was then that I knew I had to let go of my fear, or I'd lose you forever. You're not just a top notch reporter, or a superhero… you're so much more Kara. I decided to let you in, knowing you could hurt me more than anyone because if I didn't…" Lena's lip trembled, "you wouldn't see me, you'd think you were alone, that no one needed you." Lena held back a whimper when Kara cupped her face. "I need you Kara… all of you."

Kara searched her lover's face, mesmerized by the way her pale green eyes shimmered with tears. Lena… she had left her Lena all alone, down in the darkness, with just a letter she had written in the haste of her seething anger. Her world had changed the day Lex poisoned the air, but it crumbled when she saw what he had done to Clark. At first he only fashioned copies with Harun-el, but they always turned against him, always broke free of his control. What he made next were abominations… experiments that drew from Clarke's DNA, mindless beings that feared Lex. Equipped with Lena's tech she had been able to counter some of Lex's supermen, but he just made more… every week more bodies piled on the street, bodies that looked like Clark. Then… Lena had made a baby. She wondered when it had happened; when Lena decided that was an option for the darkness they were fighting. Kara paused as her heart beat pulsed in her ears. When was the last time she had spent a night in with her? A night she hadn't come home covered in blood and soot?

"Even if I'm broken, you still… want me?" Kara asked meekly.

Lena smiled even as her eyes teared. "You just have to trust me; I'll always want you, Kara."

Kara leaned forward, but lingered, waiting for Lena to seal their lips. Lena gave in and closed the distance, relishing how soft Kara's lips felt against hers. She felt a buzz course through her as Kara's tongue slid along her bottom lip and she surged forward, pushing Kara back into the couch. Her hands tangled in Kara's blonde locks and pulled her closer as she grew bolder. Kara's hands trailed down Lena's neck, down to her hips and when they arrived at their destination, Lena moaned into Kara's mouth. She knew they still had a lot to sift through, but in this moment all she wanted was to show the woman below her just how much she wanted her.


	5. Chapter 5

A/N: This one is a bit short, but I wanted to get something out. I'm equally in love with my angsty Kara and my sweet Kara, hopefully you all feel the same. Anyhow, enjoy!

**Chapter 5: Parallels**

That was… Lena took a moment for her mind to reboot as she lay tangled with Kara in her bed. What had started out as a battle for dominance, morphed into a ravenous need to explore every inch of each other's bodies. She had always imagined Kara's body to be ethereal in nature due to her alien biology, but none of her fantasies came close to her actual experience. She snuggled closer to her kryptonian lover and sighed with content as Kara reciprocated by wrapping an arm around her back and pulling her as close as she could be against her exposed chest. Despite their many differences, the Kara from now and the Kara from the future, Lena found herself enamored.

There had been a moment of hesitation when Lena had finally managed to pull off Kara's shirt. Her eyes had widened at the light scars that littered Kara's torso, just like Arryn… and when she looked into Kara's eyes she found fear wavering in her clear, blue orbs. Before Kara could have any more reason to doubt her love, Lena pressed her lips lightly to every scar she could find. It had been a tender moment of understanding; a display of Lena's abundant and neverending affection.

Her phone rang and although it pained her to pull away from her kryptonian furnace, she had a feeling it was important. She rolled to the other edge of the bed and answered.

"Hello?"

"Ummm hi, soooo" Arryn's voice was distinguishable for the Luthor. "How goes it?"

"Had a bit of a rocky start," Lena admitted, "but it goes well. How are you?"

"Good, I think… about the rocky start, I mean. I'm having fun with Alex."

"That's great, where are you guys? It ."

"At the DEO's desert facility, I wanted to train."

"But you've just recovered."

"But the sun is so nice out here, and I was thinking… you should bring Supergirl out here if you think she's ready."

"Ready for what?" Kara grumbled as she roused from her slumber.

"I'll get back to you later" Lena mumbled and quickly hung up. She still wasn't sure how she was going to break the news to Kara. "Sorry if I woke you…"

Kara smiled, rolled and placed a kiss on Lena's exposed thigh. Lena felt a pleasurable shiver run straight to her core and had half a mind to shove Kara's face where she wanted to feel pressure. However, she refrained; the sooner she told Kara, the sooner they could stop her brother from wrecking mayhem.

"Kara… there's something I'd like to show you, but it's kind of far." Lena began, clenching her jaw as Kara trailed light kisses on her inner thigh. "And we'll never get anywhere if you continue what you're doing."

"You're still able to resist me," Kara chuckled, "that vanishes with time, just so you know." The kryptonian pulled herself up and gave Lena a quick and firm kiss before changing with her superspeed. She looked back at Lena who still had a faint blush on her cheeks; she forgot how easily she could tease Lena back then. She grabbed some spare clothes and handed them to the brunette. "By the way," Kara smirked, "this was your first time with me, right?"

Lena nodded, taking the clothes with a raised brow. These had come from Kara's rack, but they were more her style than what the reporter usually donned.

"I apparently went shopping while on Red Kryptonite." Kara shrugged, "the wardrobe was the only silver lining to the situation. Anyways… don't you feel a tad bit guilty for past me?"

Lena rolled her eyes even as her cheeks flushed. "Are you insinuating I've cheated? Because I haven't, so no I don't."

Kara wore a mock hurt expression as she pulled Lena into her arms. "Ms. Luthor, you wound me."

"You are much more devious than my Kara," Lena stammered, taken off guard by Kara's playful aggression. "Meaning my future self is even more so, and if Kara is there with that version of me, I doubt she's been able to keep her mouth, hands, or much of anything to herself… and I can't blame her."

Kara took a moment to ponder and then nodded, "plus, all Lena's are my Lena's."

Lena smiled, "is that so? Then I guess all Kara's are my Kara's, further clearing my name from infidelity."

"It's a time tested theory," Kara responded cheekily, but then frowned… she felt a sharp pang when she realized she had abandoned her Lena. "For the most part."

Lena read her pain easily but said nothing of it for the moment. "Well then, Keeper of Lena's, do you mind flying this particular one to the DEO's desert facility?"

Kara scrunched her brow, "I'm game, but why?"

"Your sister is there for one," Lena felt bad for baiting her, but it was her best shot at getting Kara to go along.

"Alex," Kara smiled wide, "ok let's go! But first…" Kara changed again with her superspeed and Lena's eyes went wide. "You like?"

"I didn't know you had another uniform."

"I've become really fond of it," Kara looked down at it, "you designed it… it's self repairing and nullifies certain levels of Kryptonite."

"And it's all black…" Lena felt the material and was awed by the intricate patterns.

"Blue and red aren't the stealthiest colors," Kara explained. "Oh… you also installed this special button, but don't press it now."

"Why what's it do?" Lena raised a brow, tempted to just press it.

"You once complained how difficult it was to get me out of my uniform," Kara grinned, "so you made a button that only reacts to your biometrics."

"Dear god…" Lena gulped, "I'll be sure to refrain… for now."

Flying, even if in Kara's arms, was still not something Lena felt she would ever get used to. Still, she had to admit, there was no way they would have reached the DEO's desert facility in less than an hour if it hadn't been for Kara. When they arrived, Kara was quick to pick up on Alex's voice and so was Lena. The woman was shouting so loud, super hearing wasn't required, but the scene they stumbled upon was not what they had been expecting.

"Get down here you little brat!" Alex shouted towards the sky; jumping viciously yet in futility.

"Rao Alex, this one has pictures on her body!" Arryn said with glee as she floated upside down in the air and waved Alex's phone above her. "I'm going to swipe right."

"Don't you dare, I swear I'm gonna-"

"Too late, it's done….ooooh this one wants a unicorn!" Arryn paused and sat upright, still floating safely above Alex's reach. "What's a unicorn?" The girl quickly googled the term and smiled wide. "Alex you didn't tell me there were magical horses! Let's swipe right, anyone who likes unicorns must be a good person."

"Arghhh!" Alex shouted and pulled out her hand gun. She released several rounds much to Lena's horror. However all Arryn did was chuckle and wipe the flattened bullets off of her. "You insufferable, stupid girl, get down here before I call your mother."

"It's mother that said you always needed to go back out and find another woman, and you were the one that said you wished you swiped right more often." Arryn contested.

Lena cleared her throat and both girls whipped their heads in her direction. Arryn smiled, handed Alex her phone back and flew straight towards her mother.

"You came! Isn't the desert wonderful, so warm and toasty," Arryn declared and then eyed her mother's neck with concern. "Not at all a place for a scarf; here I'll help with that," she whisked the ascot away and then wore a mortified expression. "Rao what happened to your neck?"

Kara stood frozen in her stance as she observed the strange youth. She said Rao… she… she had that same hair as that babe.

"Arryn, give me that, you can't just," Lena stammered and reached for her ascot. "They're just hickies." It wasn't a complete lie, most of the marks were indeed hickies.

"Hickies… is that some kind of kryptonian disease?" Arryn glanced at Kara and furrowed her brows. "You're here for less than a day and you've infected her with hickies."

Kara's mouth opened only to shut again and nothing seemed to make any sense.

"There has to be a cure… right?" Arryn asked with unfettered concern.

Alex came running and took a moment to catch her breath. "I'm so sorry, she's… a handful."

"Alex, we're going to need to search the DEO database for a cure for this kryptonian disease."

"What?" Alex glanced at Arryn and then looked where her gaze was resting. When she saw Lena's neck, her face twisted with mild disgust. "Jesus, Kara, did you do that?"

"Alex…" Kara was snapped out of her petrification and registered Alex standing right next to her. "Alex!" She pulled her sister in for a tight hug. "It's really you!"

"Kara… I need to breathe." Alex groaned.

"Of course, I'm so sorry," She chuckled; she had to start remembering that no one had superpowers yet. "I've missed you."

"I umm missed you too?" Alex responded. "I take it this means I'm not around in the future."

Kara shook her head and offered a sad smile. "Hardly anyone is left."

"I figured," Alex sighed. "Still I can't believe the first thing you did upon going back in time was desecrate Lena."

Lena shot a pointed glare at her.

"How do hickies even work?" Arryn pondered, rubbing her chin for good measure. "Can we reverse the desecration?"

Alex snorted, "I'm afraid the desecration is irreversible, but she'll live."

"Don't tease her like that," Lena muttered and took Arryn's hand. "I'm fine, really. Hickies aren't some kryptonian disease. They're like… love bites."

"Love… bites?" Arryn's face flushed and when she looked at Kara, she quickly looked away, unable to hold the elder kryptonians gaze. "I suppose it's fine if they're associated with love. I thought maybe she hurt you..." her fist clenched at the thought.

Kara's eyes flicked to the girl's curled fist and scoffed, "and if I did, what would you do about it?"

Alex quickly gauged the situation and wasn't sure what her sister from the future was trying to do, but when she looked at Arryn, she saw a look she was very familiar with. Gone was the playful, curious expression that had graced Arryn's features earlier, and in its place was a look that could kill.

"Kara, stop messing around," Alex muttered.

"No, I really want to know," Kara took a step forward. "What would you do about it?" Kara's voice lost its biting edge, but the gravity of her question still weighed heavily in the air.

"Kara, stop," Lena clenched her jaw and then turned to Arryn to place a hand on Arryn's shoulder. "Don't."

But Arryn's gaze never moved from Kara and Lena shuddered. She had never seen Arryn look so… murderous.

"If you hurt her, intentionally… your life would be forfeit." Her voice was cold and calm.

"Those are big words coming from a runt like you," Kara chuckled. "I doubt you have what it takes to protect what you love. "

Arryn's brow relaxed, "mother please go stand by Alex."

"Arryn, no this is not how-"

"Everything will be fine, I promise." She peeled her eyes away from Kara momentarily to give Lena a soft smile. "Trust me."

Lena held her tongue, confused by the girl's reassuring words. She nodded and went with Alex, but not before leaving a kiss on Arryn's forehead and glaring at Kara.

"Unlike you, Supergirl, I would never abandon her." Arryn stated and caught the way Supergirl's eyes dilated for a second.

What happened next, Lena or Alex couldn't explain. A deafening sound from an impact of sorts nearly blew them away. When Alex was able to open her eyes, she saw Arryn standing with one hand raised and Kara caught in mid punch, hovering in front of her. Arryn smirked and with incredible strength, threw Kara to the side like one might throw a stone skipping in the water. Supergirl quickly regained her composure and charged the girl again. Arryn flew upwards, using her freeze breath to hinder Kara's visibility. Out of frustration, Kara twirled to clear the sky, but couldn't reposition herself quick enough when she saw a laser beam headed her way.

It struck her shoulder causing the material to break. Kara winced but was grateful that her suit had already recovered. She used her own laser vision to keep the youth at bay, and quickly rethought her strategy. She had thought to scare the girl with brute strength, but that hadn't fazed her at all. She had remained calm and countered her charges with what looked like little to no effort. She waited for the girl to approach her, hoping to read her movements, but one second she was flying towards her, and the next she had vanished.

Kara held her breath and focused her hearing. In a flash, she whipped around and caught the fist that would have sent her plummeting to the ground. She took hold of Arryn's arm and swung her down. Surprisingly, Arryn was able to land on her feet, creating a large crater on the impact zone. The two continued to exchange deafening blows, flying higher and higher into the atmosphere. From where Alex and Lena stood, it looked like a violent storm was going on in the clouds above. Then suddenly, much to Lena's horror, she saw both plummeting back to the earth, exchanging blows all the while. The impact was tremendous and caused the ground to rumble as a wave of dust blew over everything. Alex motioned for Lena to follow; they'd get there faster if they took the humvee.

As they approached, they could spot Arryn standing above a fallen Kara with her hand outstretched. The car stopped and Lena scurried out to assess the situation further.

Arryn was huffing, her clothes torn in various places. "I've never… been out of breath before… not in a long time." She said, her hand still outstretched.

Kara groaned as she propped herself up on her elbows. That was an ass whooping if ever there was one. She looked up at the youth and saw her smiling down at her.

"You really are a monster," Kara muttered but then took the girl's hand to help herself up. "But at least you're a monster that is true to her word."

Arryn chuckled, "you mean a monster that just pummeled you to the ground."

Kara shrugged, "I deserved it."

Arryn raised her brow and Kara stared at her anew. She looked like Lena when she did that.

"Let's talk somewhere your mother won't burn." Kara said as she looked back at Lena with a firm smile.

The troupe headed back to the facilities and after freshening up, they all sat in an empty conference room. Kara slumped in her chair, completely exhausted from her battle with Arryn.

"Well that was… a little reckless." Alex broke through the tension.

"It's not like we broke anything," Arryn contested with her arms crossed. "You didn't even see the best part, when we were up in the clouds and-"

Lena slammed her fist on the table and silenced the yapping youth. "What was the point?"

"I… I was protecting you." Arryn responded, slightly affronted by her mother's anger. "It's what I trained for."

"No… you said you came here to save the world, not to throw yourself into meaningless battles." Lena's voice cut through with no remorse.

"It wasn't meaningless, I had to!" Arryn threw back. "She threatened you, and I… I wasn't going to- I knew she was just..." she scraped for the right words.

"I'm positive I didn't raise you to lose your temper, or hurt others…"

Arryn bit on her bottom lip and stood from her chair and muttered, "that's because you didn't."

"Excuse me." Lena stared at her hard.

"You _didn't_ raise me… neither of you." She looked at Lena and then Kara. "She would understand. I'm not a monster… but," her voice wavered, "I'm not human either, I can't just..."

"Arryn, you know that's not what I-" Lena reached out for the girl, but Arryn stepped back, out of her reach.

"Just… stop. I got carried away… and I don't mean in the battle. I came here to save Kara, to spare the world from Lex's future… it's why I was born… made. I just didn't expect all of this… I didn't know skies could be so blue, that people could be so nice, like Clark and Alex, that breakfast tacos would be so yummy, or that the youtube could suck hours and hours from your day… or that… it doesn't matter, I… was not made for those things." Arryn sighed. "Thank you Supergirl for reminding me…"

Kara frowned and without so much as blinking, appeared behind Arryn and pressed down on the pressure points that would render the girl unconscious. Lena yelped and rushed to catch Arryn, but Kara already had her secured in her arms. She looked at Kara with an incredulous look and the kryptonian merely shrugged.

"What? She was gonna bolt." Kara explained.

"It's your fault for picking a fight," Lena groaned and leaned against the wall. "And mine for letting it get that far."

"I wasn't just picking a fight, Lena." Kara sighed as she looked down at the youth in her arms. "It might be hard for you to understand, but we needed that… at least I know I did. The world we both come from is dark in every possible way. For light to exist… it takes a lot of strength and love. I cast it out… the day I left her...maybe even before that." Kara held the girl in her arms tighter. "But this one, she held back her punches, used strategy rather than brute strength to overcome my overwhelming charges… redirected my anger and pain back at me. The truth of the matter is, she's been given a huge responsibility… and she's carried it for all the years she's been alive and that I've been gone." Her voice cracked and the girl of steel found herself burrowing in the girl's motley hair. "I was wrong."

Lena watched with wonder before pulling Kara towards her, "let's go to my loft."

* * *

"Baby Arryn come down from there!" Kara flies up to the ceiling and grabs the baby from floating further up. She scoops her in her arms and flies them back down.

"She's anxious to explore," Lena murmurs as Kara lands beside her and kisses her cheek. "She's already broken through 3 harnesses."

"I know, too bad we can't go outside," Kara pouts. "But your simulation room is beautiful." She adds with an encouraging smile, "let's have a picnic there for lunch."

"Rao you're so adorable," Lena hums and tiptoes to kiss Kara's jaw. "A picnic it is."

Kara excitedly enters the simulation room and throws a blanket on the floor as it transitions from metallic floors to grass. The texture changes to mimic soil and soft blades of grass, and Arryn giggles as she rolls in the blanket. Kara tickles her tummy and loves how freely the baby laughs, but is startled when she grabs her hand and nearly throws her across the room.

"Whoa... " Kara collects herself and returns to the baby, "your powers are manifesting like crazy. Thankfully you won't get your laser vision until you hit puberty."

"What a joy that'll be for me," Lena jestfully mutters as she places a basket down and takes a seat by Kara.

Kara's eyes fly open as she takes in the glory that is Lena Zor-el Luthor in shorts and a plaid shirt. The way she smiles brightly at her as she crawls over her and captures her lips is absolutely tantalizing. She lingers just a moment longer before pulling back and giggling at how flushed Kara is.

"Rao Lena you look so beautiful." Kara sighs and then glances at baby Arryn who has made her way onto Lena's lap.

"Hello little one," Lena coos as she picks up the baby in her arms.

Arryn's little hands reach out gently to caress Lena's face and she brings her little face closer so she can give Lena a messy kiss. Lena chuckles and returns the kisses on the baby's cheeks.

"Awww, she think so too," Kara exclaims and leans to rest her chin on Lena's shoulder. "You have the prettiest mommy in the whole universe."

"The prettiest mommies," Lena corrects and nuzzles her cheek against Kara's blonde tresses.

"You're right," Kara lifts her lips and gives Lena a soft kiss at the crevice of her neck and jaw.

Lena relishes the feeling and whines when Kara pulls away to take out the food.

"I can't believe there isn't any real meat in this," Kara wonder aloud.

"Sorry about that," Lena responds.

"Oh, no, it's nothing to be sorry about, it tastes so good." Kara says as she munches on a sandwich. "You're the best Lena."

"If only you were always so easy to please," Lena teases, but Kara knows there's some bitter truth to that.

"You're talking about future me, aren't you?" Kara asks with knitted brows. "I can't imagine it Lena… I can't imagine her." Kara pops a grape in her mouth before feeding one to Lena. "But… she must have been really lost and afraid. I could never be disappointed in you Lena."

Lena looks into Kara's eyes, searching for any trace of hesitation but only finds unconditional comfort. She leans forward to kiss Kara even though she's just put a grape in her mouth. Kara smiles into the kiss.

"I love you Kara… I'll always love you."


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: Well... if you haven't seen the last episode of SG yet, then you've been spared some ANGSTY feels. I can only deal with angst when I know it's going to be resolved with fluffy, happy moments. Therefore I give you this chapter in hopes of providing some relief. Thinking of moving my works to AO3... what say you all? Or mayhaps I'll just post on both. Thank you all for your wonderful reviews :) you all make me a happy writer!**

Chapter 6: Time

Lena slid on her couch as Kara carried Arryn to the guest bedroom; she'd be out for a few more hours. Lena closed her eyes and rolled her shoulders as she sunk as far as her leather upholstery would allow. She tensed when she felt Kara's hands on her shoulders, but relaxed when she began to knead patterns into her tight muscles.

"Mmmm," Lena hummed as Kara took care of her knots. "I think you should consider being my personal masseuse at the office."

"We both know you don't have that much time between meetings," Kara winked when Lena grinned up at her. "You're really tense… I'm sorry about today, but I really think there was no other way to go about it."

"It's all just happening so fast," Lena groaned as Kara hit a rather tough knot. "Arryn showed up a few days ago, was stabbed with a kryptonite spear, you disappeared through a rip in time, then Arryn pulled you through another rip that just tore through your kitchen, and to see you two fight…"

Kara took a seat by Lena and pulled her to rest on her chest. "Lean on me…"

"You have your own problems," Lena contested but fell easily into Kara's embrace. She could hear the kryptonian's steady heartbeat and was lulled into a rhythmic peace.

"We have the same problems," Kara insisted and left a chaste kiss on Lena's earlobe. "Unlike me, you haven't run away from them. I lost myself Lena… I honestly lost all hope, yet you carried on. Can I tell you something?"

Lena nodded, taking Kara's hand into her own.

Kara sighed, "when I first saw Arryn, the only thing I could see were Lex's labs… I never told future you that I stumbled into one of his secret facilities. What I saw that day... " Kara's breath hitched as her chest tightened.

"You're safe, Kara… I'm with you." Lena murmured and raised Kara's hand to her lips.

Kara exhaled and pulled Lena closer. "I saw bodies that looked just like mine… sleeping or dead, I couldn't make sense of it. I burned that lab to ashes, but I knew somehow Lex had gotten a hold of my DNA. I started having nightmares and things only got worse when I started questioning if I was the real Kara… so when you showed me Arryn, all I felt was fear." Her lip quivered and she inhaled deeply; Lena's scent always calmed her down. "All I saw was a weapon made from the flesh of people I loved… just like Lex's supermen. It never dawned on me that you wanted a family… because I… I couldn't see a future." Kara cried, "but she's so beautiful Lena…"

"Oh, Kara," Lena said as she turned to face her weeping lover and wiped the tears that slid down her cheek. "It's never too late, you know… she adores you. Especially your pants," Lena smiled as Kara let out a wet chuckle. "In fact, when she came here, she wasn't too sure about Supergirl, and god when she found out about Kara Danvers, she thought it was a joke."

"I was a different person…" Kara admitted.

"I was honestly afraid of the description she gave of you, but," Lena smiled, "she said you, the you that you are now, comforted her… made her feel safe. She loves you, Kara… just the way you are."

"Dark, brooding and all?" Kara jested.

"Maybe," Arryn spoke up with her arms crossed as she leaned on the wall at the other end of the couch with a lazy expression.

"Arryn!" Lena gasped, wondering how long she had been there.

"You're awake?" Kara raised her brow.

"The way both of your hearts are pounding, I'm surprised I slept at all." Arryn muttered. "Anyways, like I was saying… maybe I can forgive you… if you bring me brisket tacos."

"Tacos?" Kara looked at Lena for some direction.

"She's fond of food," Lena chuckled.

"Alright, be back in a jiffy," Kara stated and whooshed on out of there. A few minutes later she had a paper bag in hand and placed it on the kitchen island, "record time!"

Arryn's face lit up as she neared the bag and emptied its contents. She put three on her plate and glanced at Kara. Meekly she made another plate and scooted it towards the intimidating figure.

"Mother said you never liked vegetables, but this one is the best."

"Vegetables?" Kara knitted her brows together. "But brisket is made from…" she mumbled something incoherent as Lena charged at her and slapped her hand over her mouth.

"Made from what?" Arryn asked with a wary gaze.

"She's very fond of cows, horses, live stock in general," Lena explained.

Kara pulled back Lena's hand from her mouth. "So am I, but… Arryn why do you think brisket is a vegetable?"

"Alex said so…" Arryn stated and looked to her mother, "and mother and Clark didn't say otherwise. I've never had meat… as you well know, it's not something that's easily come by in our time."

"Ah," Kara said and then shook her head, "it's most certainly not a vegetable. It's made from a cow."

"Cow?" Arryn's face paled. "Like… like hamburgers?"

"Yeah," Kara nodded.

"But I've…" Arryn looked down at her half eaten taco, "I've eaten 52 tacos since yesterday." The words deflated out of her. "52 little baby cows."

"Hey now it's not like that…" Kara went to the girl's side and rubbed her back. "Maybe like one baby cow."

Arryn looked up at her with a horrified expression and Lena was equally mortified.

"Kara!"

"Sorry, it was just a joke," Kara insisted and then chuckled, "your mother was always concerned about my diet. In fact, our first few outings as friends were centered on her forcing me to eat green stuff and me trying to get her to eat copious amounts of potstickers. So, in a sense, you being a carnivore is all my fault. I take full responsibility."

"I guess…" Arryn sighed and then glanced at Lena, "why didn't you tell me?"

Lena apologized with a sorry smile, "you looked absolutely mortified at the mention of hamburgers, I couldn't bring myself to."

"Your mother's food tastes better than anything I ever ate topside," Kara hummed before Arryn could retort.

The youth paused and soaked in Kara's words. "Topside" was what they called anything that wasn't their home; the world tainted by Lex's air. It dawned on Arryn that this Supergirl was the one from the vids she had seen… a Supergirl who knew exactly what her world was like. A world filled with death, darkness and damage, but that's where her home was. Her warm home that had all the light she thought she'd ever need… the place her mother lived, created and cared for her.

"It was always really tasty," Arryn agreed. "I… miss it."

"Same, I've been eating the gruel Alex managed to convert to something edible," Kara shrugged, "It tasted better when Alex made it."

Arryn looked down as Kara's eyes stormed with loss. "My mother… never told me how everyone died. I just found vids, disks buried in the rubble of crumbled structures that had bits of the truth. I even saw…" Arryn paused and felt her heart jump in her throat. "Oh Rao… I…"

"What's the matter, Arryn?" Lena stepped forward to take hold of her arms.

"I was a bit older when I found a vid of… the day you died." Arryn could see the vid in her head now. The body of the fallen kryptonian lay battered on top of rubble, around her floating ominously in the darkened skies a group of Lex's supermen. It was so vivid in her memories now. "It looked just like… when I pulled you through the vortex. But… that would be impossible..."

"Anything is possible," Kara attested. "Maybe you saved me from that premature death."

"But… you never returned, not while I was there," Arryn took in Kara's mortified expression.

"You're saying that I-"

"You haven't been there since that day." Arryn clarified.

"That can't be, so your mother thinks… that I'm dead. And I never..."

Arryn nodded and felt sorry as tears welled in the other kryptonian's eyes. Her mother had raised her on stories of Supergirl, so she had inadvertently become some sort of mythical, surreal entity in her head. She was the hero that could storm anything. She never imagined her being able to cry. She took the blonde's hand in her own and gave it a slight squeeze.

"She still loves you; that's why she sent me back… which is now rather confusing if you think about it," Arryn took a moment to compose her thoughts. "I can't tell if the future is changing the past or if the past is changing the future… or is it all just netting out at the end." Arryn sighed, "Clark was right, I'm going to need all the tacos I can get...even if it is made of baby cow."

Lena raised her brow, but didn't say anything as the young girl went back to the island for more tacos. She neared the somber kryptonian. "What is it that you regret?"

Kara chuckled bitterly, "I left her a horrible letter when I decided to leave. I basically said she wasn't any different from Lex. I never apologized for being so wrong."

Lena bit her bottom lip and winced at Kara's words. Being compared to Lex by the love of her life would surely have left a deep scar on the woman. "Perhaps she never truly believed those words. Maybe the me now would… what with my insecurities and this being so new, but future me… she would know what it means to be loved unconditionally, so maybe she never believed those words"

Kara knitted her brows as she looked down at Lena.

"Maybe, even though you had left in anger and hurt, I never stopped believing you'd find your way back. In fact, I bet future me knows your still alive. Arryn what exactly was your mission?"

Arryn stopped chewing mid-taco and looked up at the ceiling before replying, "save her, save us all. Mother said too many details would throw me off course, so there wasn't anything specific. I just know I had to stop Supergirl from dying. But there's no way she could have…" Arryn paused as she thought back to the day she had returned from topside with loot.

* * *

"Mother guess what I found?" Arryn hurriedly flies down to the lab where her mother is busy composting.

"All the things I asked for?" Lena jests as she adds a hastening component to her compost pile..

"Yes, all the boring things you asked for," Arryn responds with a roll of her eyes, but then pulls out a chip, "and another vid!"

Lena slides her goggles so that they rest on her forehead and focuses on the small piece of tech Arryn is holding up. She plucks it from her teenager's fingers and squints at the fine details, but nothing is etched onto the surface. Usually there was a date, a name, anything to commemorate the brave soul who dared to capture Lex's nightmare. But on this there was no marker.

"Bring me the vid reader please, and then for the love of Rao cleanse yourself."

"What, I wanna watch it too!" Arryn whines, but a quick look from her mother has her flying to get the reader. She returns with a mopey face, "can I watch it after?"

"If it's safe… Lex will stop at nothing to hurt people." Lena responds and tells her daughter to shut the door on her way out, which she does even as she grumbles with discontent-her loot taken from her.

She inserts the small chip into the device and is immediately taken to a scene she wishes she had never stumbled upon. She stands amidst rubble, fire tinges the surface and up ahead is a figure she could never forget. Powerful thighs, a long torso, broad shoulders and a mess of bloodied blonde hair are splashed against a rock. Her bottom lips quivers as she takes in the fallen image of her lover and her eyes widen with fear as she glances at several of Lex's supermen that surround her. She cries and rushes to Kara's side, but finds herself stumbling back as another familiar, yet unknown figure appears from the strangest of portals.

"She… she has pants," the girls says… and Lena's eyes blink as she takes in the color of the girl's hair.

A flash of green interrupts her discovery as the girl hisses. Then it ends and Lena is back in her lab. Her hands shake as she stares at the file. There was no mistaking that girl for anyone else; it was an older Arryn that had pushed through that time vortex-Lena is sure of it. Then… Lena's stomach turns as another realization makes itself clear-whose body had she recovered that day? She locks her lab door, aware that Arryn could break through it if she wanted, but knows the teenager understands when she needs space. Quickly she peruses through her computers files and opens the results of the blood transfusions she had given Arryn and herself throughout the years.

Several years ago, Kara had stumbled back into her life… days after Supergirl had been proclaimed dead… days after she had collected the body herself. If it hadn't been for that, both her and Arryn would have died. The transfusion she had taken from the fallen kryptonian had been heavily polluted with what Lena thought were only Kryptonite shards… but looking back at the transfusions, side by side, one thing became abundantly clear.

"She's alive…" Lena whispers and hears Arryn calling for her. She quickly finishes editing the video, cutting off the visuals before any tell of a time portal. Her child can't know… not yet. Because another thing is abundantly clear… if Kara didn't die that day, then why had she never returned?

* * *

"In the vid you appeared dead, but…" Arryn looked at Lena, "I gave it to you first, so you could examine it and make sure it was safe." The rattled youth took a deep breath and exhaled, "my mission… is complete? But… maybe that's not what I should have saved you from; maybe there's something else, something here.."

Lena took a moment to piece all the components of this new truth together and nodded, "Arryn, in your journal your dates are followed by AS…"

"After Supergirl, I… I made it up when I started writing," Arryn explained.

"You were gone… presumably here for that entire time. Displaced," Lena pondered aloud. "It's changed everything, so maybe you've already created another tangent, a future in which Lex doesn't unleash hell on earth. But… you're timeline is still intact, you'll need to go back if you want to save that world."

"I wasn't enough to save my world," Kara retorted, a dreadful edge to her voice that made Lena flinch.

Arryn took note of the seething tone, but didn't flinch as her mother had. It wasn't only anger that slithered through Supergirl's lips; there was something more. Now that she could hear the woman's heartbeat, how it erratically lurched, Arryn came to a resolute understanding.

"You weren't," Arryn confirmed and took Kara's hand in hers, "but together..._el mayarah."_

"_El mayarah," _Kara repeated in a whisper as she held onto the young girl's green, blue gaze.

The words lingered for a moment before Arryn felt a familiar pull. She could see the space behind Kara shift and quickly she yanked Kara forward. Time's fabric split as a kryptonite spear thrusted forward. Arryn smirked; this time she was ready. She took hold of the shaft and roughly twisted it from its wielder's hands. With swift, precise movements, she arched the spear back and lunged it forward, taking the gas-masked assailant back through the portal.

"He knows." Arryn stated as the portal closed. "Somehow he knows and he's getting more accurate."

"Geez kid, you nearly yanked my arm off!" Kara grumbled as she regained her posture and rolled her shoulder. "Good call though, those spears are nasty." She lifted her hand for Arryn to high-five.

"Thanks!" Arryn met her hand enthusiastically and then glanced at Lena who was petrified. "Mother… are you alright?"

"I...yes, I'm fine," Lena gulped. "I wouldn't say I'm high-fiving alright, but alright just the same."

Kara nodded and then returned her attention to Arryn. "Those were fluid moves; I take it Lena's trained you."

"Yup, I'm well versed in several techniques; I've been trained to read movement, handle various weapons and psychological defense."

"Psychological defense?" Both Kara and Lena asked.

"Mother said your friend J'onn had something similar. Lex… used a very cruel method on the rebellion years after your disappearance." Arryn trembled at the memory. "Mother said even after you died, people still wanted to fight, to bring Lex down… so he started releasing vids… that messed with your head. As a kid I was very fond of vids… it was the only way I could see you and the rest of the gang." Her eyes flicked to Kara and then fell to the floor in embarrassment.

Kara frowned, "I'm sorry I wasn't there… did these vids ever affect you?"

Arryn nodded, "I don't want to talk about it."

Kara stood stoically even though Lena looked like she was just about to drown Arryn in hugs.

"Wait," Kara held out her arm before Lena could comfort the teen. "I know it's hard, but letting something like that fester won't do you any good." She pulled Arryn's hand and Lena's to lead them towards the balcony. It was a nice, shady afternoon and the sun was about to set. She sat Arryn down in the middle of one of Lena's patio couches and glanced at Lena to sit on one side. She sat on the other side, keeping Arryn's hand tucked in hers. "Now, tell us, please."

"I'm not sure if I can," Arryn spoke softly.

"Just try, it's ok if you break a little. That's why we're here," Kara smiled and nodded at Lena, "we'll pick up any pieces you might need back."

Arryn took a deep breath and tried to steady her heartbeat. She still remembered that horrid day vividly.

"I had gone out to find loot; anything mother could use to sustain her tech.I also used to pick up stuff for myself, so when I saw a discarded vid player I took it home without a second thought. It came with a pre-installed vid." Arryn clenched her eyes shut. "I was in the simulation room when I started the vid. At first it seemed normal… but then I felt this weird sensation like cold water spilling slowly from the crown of my head. I raised my hand to touch it and it was tinged red… like blood." Arryn paused as her body began to tremble, but took some comfort in Lena and Kara holding her hands. "The world around me transformed… at first I thought I had accessed the simulation room's war interface for training, but soon enough I realized that wasn't the case… there were bodies of people I loved scattered everywhere. Mother said she found me screaming, crying and curled into myself. It took her 3 days to get me out of that state." Arryn sighed, "I've had nightmares since… but I know how to get out now."

"I didn't know I could hate Lex even more," Lena murmured and put her arm around the solemn youth. "I'm sorry… I know it wasn't my fault, but… still, I'm sorry a Luthor hurt you."

"He's not a real Luthor," Arryn responded with a small smile. "Real Luthor's aren't cowards. Real Luthor's have courage, and Zor-el Luthor's have hearts large enough to save the world… that's what you've always told me."

Kara chuckled, "she definitely would come up with something like that." She gave Arryn's hand a squeeze and looked out towards National City's skyline. "Arryn… will you train me? I'll need to be stronger if I'm to go back."

"Are you sure your one hundred plus year old bones can handle it?" Arryn jested and received a flick to her forehead. "Ow!"

"That's for being rude to your elders." Kara said with a grin.

Arryn rubbed her forehead, "technically I would be the sensei in this situation and your superior. Is this anyway to treat your sensei?"

Kara flicked her forehead again, "whatever runt, we'll see how your fair against a calm and collected Supergirl."

Arryn smiled; she wasn't sure what a runt was but it was nice having a nickname from Supergirl. "Challenge accepted."

* * *

Arryn threw herself on her mother's leather couch in her office and wondered if she'd ever recover enough strength to lift herself off of it. Lena raised an eyebrow as the youth groaned into the leather and stopped moving altogether.

"She's insane," Arryn muttered and curled into the couch. "I don't wanna go baaaaaack."

"Does she know you're here?" Lena lowered the reports she had been reading and glanced at Arryn.

Arryn shook her head, "I'm making my heart beat slower, so she doesn't recognize it."

"What?" Lena's brows knit with a worrisome expression.

"It's fine, really, I don't even need to breath as often as you do." Arryn sighed, "can I hang out with you today instead?"

"I'll be in the lab all afternoon," Lena stated.

"A lab!" Arryn's eyes lit up as she sat up on the couch. "Like at home! Can I see your lab?"

Lena smiled; of course any spawn of hers would be excited at the mention of a lab. "Of course, but I will tell Kara you're with me before she freaks out and starts raising hell to find you."

"She… she would not." Arryn refuted with a pout. "All she cares about is kicking my butt."

Lena chuckled, "you know that's not true, and as I hear it, you're kicking her butt far more often."

Arryn rolled her shoulders with a groan, "at the expense of my body. I've only had 19 years to test my strength, she's had Rao knows how many. I just need a little break."

Lena nodded, placing the reports down and walking towards Arryn. "Alright, you'll spend the day in the labs with me. I actually have a new intern starting today in my R&D team. Her name's Liara, maybe you can tag along and see what she's up to."

Arryn nodded enthusiastically as her mother helped her off of the couch. She loved being in the lab with her mother, where they spent many a night talking, theorizing and laughing together. Arryn felt happiest when Lena would look at her with pure adoration over a formula she adapted or sketches of new designs for anti-kryptonite gear. As they traveled down the elevator and walked into the lab, Arryn marveled at how similar it was to the one back home.

"Would you mind grabbing us a coat, some gloves and goggles from over there." Lena nodded in one direction.

"Of course," Arryn used her superspeed and Lena's eyes went wide upon her return.

She quickly glanced around and was glad that no one was in their vicinity. "Arryn, you can't use your powers here."

"What? Why?" Arryn asked.

"You look a lot like me and Kara… mostly me," Lena sighed, "people will start to accuse me of experimenting on kids, or worse playing God"

"Uhhh well you kinda did," Arryn replied cheekily. "But how is making life a bad thing?"

"A conversation for another time, darling. For now, do your best human impersonation. If anyone asks you're also an intern."

Arryn sighed but agreed to her mother's terms. They walked ahead to a separate room and Arryn found her gaze drawn to a girl with silver hair pulled back into a ponytail. As they drew closer, the kryptonian couldn't help but take notice of the girl's honey-colored eyes and nearly tripped when said girl smiled at her. Lena gave her daughter a quizzical brow but noticed that Arryn's attention was elsewhere.

"Ummm… hi," Arryn spoke and then raised her hand in the air, clearly in preparation for a high five.

The girl chuckled and followed through with the unorthodox greeting. "Hi, I'm Liara."

"Oh right, I'm Arryn." The kryptonian added bashfully but with a smile.

Lena mentally smacked herself at the realization that Arryn had probably not interacted with a whole lot of people in the future she came from. Still she was glad her new intern seemed amused by Arryn's antics.

"So where are you from?" Liara asked.

"Earth," Arryn blurted out and then sharply inhaled when Liara gave her an amused look, "I mean, of course I'm from Earth, you meant what city or even state, or maybe country or habitat...ecosystem?" She continued to stammer through her response.

"Arryn's actually a local… a bit eccentric, but nice. She's a new intern, like you Liara," Lena assured.

"Awesome, I happen to very much like eccentric. I'm from Metropolis, and a bit eccentric myself, so I'm sure we'll get along great."

Arryn smiled wide, "I hope so."

Lena glanced at Arryn and smirked; she was as bad at Kara at hiding her feelings. Hopefully she would be a bit better about keeping her real identity a secret. She tasked the two with some simple lab prep and watched as Arryn worked alongside Liara with relative ease. Both seemed more than adept to handle something more, so she handed them various samples for a new piece of tech she wanted to incorporate in the visual cloaks.

"What if we just…" Arryn tweaked the equipment. "And bam!"

Liara chuckled but grinned and added another component to the mix, "or maybe we could… perfect."

"Rao… I mean wow… that's… how did you know to do that?" Arryn asked, impressed by the girl's know how. She had an unfair advantage being from a future where most of the things they were working on had already been solved.

Liara shrugged, "perhaps I'm feeling particularly inspired today. I've never met anyone who could keep up."

Arryn felt heat creep into her cheeks and looked around to see Lena walking by with a playful roll of her eyes. She'd never felt quite like this being around someone else… then again there weren't many people to be around where she was actually from. She smiled shyly at Liara and thanked her for the compliment. The rest of the day passed by in a similar manner, and Lena wondered if the two had even noticed that it was well past 9 pm.

"Alright, you two, I'm closing up the lab for tonight." Lena walked in to them chatting away over some theory or another.

"Already?" Arryn asked.

"It's already half past 9." Lena responded.

"Wow, guess time flies when you're having fun." Liara smiled at Arryn.

"Yeah… well, in that case… uhh can I fly you home?" Arryn asked and Lena's expression was priceless. She was about to intervene and save Arryn from her mishap, but Liara's laughter broke the silence.

"Do you have a helicopter parked on the landing pad or what?"

"I meant walk, do you live close? Is that a creepy question? I just meant since it's so late." Arryn blabbered and felt that same heat rise to her cheeks.

Lena sighed, her poor, half-kryptonian baby had inherited Kara's rambling nature.

"I actually live two blocks down," Liara glanced at Arryn, "wanna grab food and then walk me home?"

"You're perfect!" Arryn exclaimed and then reeled back when Liara giggled, "I mean sounds perfect."

"Liara, why don't you head up to the lobby first, there are few items I have to go over with Arryn. It won't take but a minute or two." Lena said with some amount of firmness, but not enough to cause Arryn worry.

Liara nodded, "meet you up there, time traveler."

Lena's lips pursed as she threw back a sharp glance at Arryn. As soon as the elevator shut, Lena asked, "what does she mean by that?"

"She gave me a nickname!" Arryn said and crossed her arms, "she said I was so far ahead of my time that I seemed out of place… like a time traveler."

Lena sighed, grateful that Arryn had at least managed to keep one secret.

"I hoped you would get along with Liara, but I didn't know it would be on this level." Lena massaged her temples. "You like her, correct?"

"Of course, she's smart and pretty; we'd be great friends." Arryn smiled dreamily, "we could hold hands, eat food and talk about time traveling theories all night. She'd be a great candidate for my first friend ever!"

Lena sighed; looked like Arryn also inherited Kara's obliviousness. "Forgive me if I'm wrong Arryn, but I think you might like her as more than a friend."

"More than a friend?" Arryn cocked her head to the side.

"As in you might have romantic feelings for the girl. Like the ones I have for Kara."

Arryn blushed a deep red. "Rao… does that mean I have to give her love bites? When do we have to get married?"

"What? No, that's not..." Lena blushed. "I'm taking it dating was never something future me explained."

Arryn shook her head. "But I do know how babies are made!" She responded triumphantly.

"Well at least we had that talk," Lena muttered and rubbed her chin. "Ok, so here's the deal. You can hang out with Liara, if you promise to be home by 11."

"A curfew, really?" Arryn groaned. "But why, because of this dating thing?"

"I just don't want you to chew off more than you can handle," Lena explained.

"I'll be fine," Arryn assured her as she boarded the elevator. Dating must be eating with someone you liked. "I can chew just fine." she shouted before the elevator closed and Lena didn't know whether to chuckle or cry.

Lena sat at her desk, tapping her finger incessantly against the glass and biting her bottom lip. Would it be ethical if she just so happened to be testing her new nano security bots and they accidentally ran into Arryn and Liara? It would be… an accidental invasion of privacy. Lena sighed, no, she couldn't just stalk her daughter because she was nervous that she'd get hurt somehow. Liara was a wonderful girl whom she had recruited at MIT… though technically the girl had been kicked out for undermining one of her professors. Regardless, Lena was able to sense the unbridled genius that the girl embodied.

What could possibly go wrong? Lena leaned back in her chair. Arryn could misread a situation, or Liara could take something the wrong way. If the girl stormed off on her, Lena knew Arryn would take it to heart.

"Still stuck in the office I see." A dapper voice broke through her concentration.

"Kara!" Lena swiveled her chair only to find Kara merely inches away from her lips.

The kryptonian steadied the chair with a firm grip and pressed her lips into Lena's. The formerly stressed CEO sighed into the kiss and whimpered when Kara masterfully used her tongue along her lips. She gasped when Kara deepened the kiss and found her hands naturally treading through Kara's honey, golden locks.

"Much better," Kara murmured when she pulled back. "Where's that slacker?" She glanced around the room, but kept Lena pinned in her chair.

"She's on a date," Lena recalled. "I was thinking about spying on her."

Kara chuckled, "and how did this happen?"

"I introduced her to my newest intern… a kid I recruited from MIT... technically she was kicked out."

"Sounds like a perfect first date for Arryn."

Lena glared at Kara, "I couldn't tell her not to go. But what if she gets hurt?"

"You do remember the world we come from right?" Kara arched her brow. "I think she can handle a human girl."

"Do you remember how you handled the human girl you fell in love with?" Lena shot back with an even higher arched brow.

Kara blushed and faltered in her comeback. "Touche… but she can't possibly be as bad as-"

"Just as bad," Lena confirmed.

"In that case…" Kara's crinkled her brow, "time for some reconnaissance. You have a spy suit right? I specifically recall you having this very, very appealing spy suit."

Lena chuckled and pulled Kara by her cape's collar to whisper in her ear. "I need you focused on Arryn, not me."

Kara shuddered as Lena's voice tickled against her skin. Her heart beat fast and she pulled the woman into a firm embrace; how had she ever taken this person for granted? She buried her nose into Lena's hair and took a deep breath; she knew if she wasn't careful, she'd just start crying. She had made a grave mistake the day she left home, and every moment spent by the woman she had scorned was a daily reminder… but it also fueled her to get back home.

"I love you," Kara spoke softly and pulled back with a smile. "I am happy to be a Zor-el Luthor."

"Truly?" Lena asked in a small voice. "Even after… well everything?"

"Yes, Arryn said it best… my heart is bigger because of you, Lena." Kara kissed her forehead and grinned. "Now let's go make sure our daughter isn't making a fool out of herself. Wait one second," Kara sped away and returned in a sudden flash. "We both need to change." She pulled Lena up from the chair and sped changed them both.

"Kara!" Lena gasped, "you can't just… what are these?"

"Jeans and a t-shirt. No one will suspect it's you." Kara inspected her from all angles. "Rao Lena… your butt makes everything look good."

"You...are an idiot." Lena muttered, arms crossed and blush intact.

"Maybe, but I'm your idiot, so come on, let's get going." Kara offered her arm and Lena took that moment to appreciate Kara's look- ripped at the knees, tight black pants, a plain, navy blue t-shirt that fit just right and a leather jacket to top it all off.

"I need you focused on Arryn, not me." Kara chuckled as she led them out into the night.


	7. Chapter 7

A/N: Wow... just wow. I am SO sorry guys. In my eagerness to get you all a new chapte, I had no idea that I had skipped one of my chapters. So here it is, the missing piece. Hopefully that will provide some much needed clarity. Again my sincerest apologies haha I am literally just all over the place.

**Chapter 7: The Missing Piece**

Arryn walked out of the elevator brimming with a nervous and equally excited energy. The last time she could remember making a friend was the day her mother had given her a rather unique stuffed animal. It was a raggedy lion that Arryn adored and Lena had merged with a benevolent AI. She had named him Arthur, telling him he was the once and future king, and together they would vanquish the tyrant of topside. A human friend she never had; partially because she couldn't go topside without a suit, but humans had also learned that mingling with an alien was reason enough to be executed.

"Hey time traveler what'd the boss want with you?" Liara asked as Arryn neared her.

"The boss… you mean moth… Lena… Ms. Luthor." Arryn stumbled through her corrections. "She gave me a curfew."

Liara's eyes widened slightly, "you… live with her?"

"Oh, uh, yes," Arryn raised a finger to the air, "she's a distant relative, and my family kind of just dumped me on her; she's been kind enough to take me in."

"I thought you kinda looked like her," Liara said as she appraised the girl before her. "Is that your natural hair?"

Arryn smiled, "it is, and yours? I've never seen such silver hair on humans."

Liara giggled, "I like how you talk about humans like you're not one." Arryn blushed but remained silent for Liara to continue. "My hair is actually the result of a science experiment gone wrong. Let's walk and I'll tell you the story."

Arryn nodded enthusiastically as she tailed along. The night was brisk which Arryn enjoyed since her body normally ran hotter than usual. However, she noted her companion didn't have a coat at all and shivered slightly as they waited for a crosswalk to turn.

"Would you like my jacket? I'm actually fairly warm in this type of weather." Arryn offered her coat.

"Are you sure? I always forget mine at home."

"I'm sure," Arryn smiled and draped her coat on Liara's shoulders. "Better?"

"Much," Liara blushed at the overwhelming warmth that wrapped around her almost as soon as she pulled Arryn's coat around her.

Nearby a strange meeping sound and the clatter of metal could be heard. Arryn peered in that direction but found nothing suspicious. She shrugged her shoulders and crossed the street with Liara.

"You can't meep!" Lena hissed as Kara held her awkwardly in her arms.

"You're the one that tipped over the trash can lid." Kara shot back but then noticed how Lena shivered. Quickly she lowered them back in the alley they had just been in. "Stand still," the kryptonian commanded as she took off her leather jacket.

"Taking pages from your daughter's playbook, I see." Lena teased even as she relished the warmth and scent that exuded from the offered jacket.

"I have an improved play," Kara smirked as she slid her hands onto Lena's waist, guided her towards her and dipped in slowly for a gentle kiss. The contact was feather light and when Lena tried to deepen it, she found herself unable to.

"Kara," she growled, but only received a brief, firm kiss and a chuckle.

"We'll miss the whole date if I let you have your way."

Arryn had agreed to whatever Liara suggested and briefly thought to ask what exactly pizza was. All she knew of pizza was that it was one of Supergirl's favorite food groups. The food she was used to had been a mixture of nutrients that somehow tasted delicious, but mother had always let her name the dishes. Therefore she sometimes found that she had eaten food very much like this Earth's. For instance, what she had called towers, were called sandwiches...albeit much smaller than the ones her mother had made for her.

"Here we are," Liara tugged Arryn's hand and led them into a tiny parlour. "Table for two, please."

Arryn felt a tingle in her fingertips and relished the continuous contact. She had seen some humans connected in this way, but wasn't sure when it was appropriate to engage in it when someone wasn't your mother. They sat in a candlelit corner and Arryn was immediately overwhelmed by the delicious aroma.

"This place smells amazing!" Arryn enthusiastically stated and looked enamored with the fluffy round discs she found at other people's tables. "What is that?"

Liara looked at what Arryn was pointing at and raised a brow, "that's pizza."

* * *

"What's happening?" Lena whispered behind her menu; they had taken a booth in a corner at the front and sat on the same side of the bench.

Kara sighed, "she doesn't know what pizza is…"

"Oh, I suppose there's no pizza in the future?"

"You used to make me some," Kara murmured; bringing up her memories caused conflict within her. They were at once warm and painful. "I guess you didn't want her to pick up on my bad eating habits. Anyways we should-" Kara's eyes widened and her brow twitched.

"What, what is it?" Lena asked full of worry.

"Rao she eats food just like you do," Kara responded with a shake of her head.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Lena wasn't sure if she should be angry or embarrassed by Kara's comments.

Kara smirked; back when they had first started going out to lunch together, Kara had almost imploded the first time Lena ate something she really liked. The CEO had a habit of making the most inappropriate sounds that were more suited for a bedroom than a dining room… though her Lena had definitely proven that nearly any room could become an appropriate place for such sounds.

"Oh, you know… you certainly have a way of vocalizing your appreciation."

Lena blushed, "are you saying… that I… moan?"

Kara chuckled, "sometimes I wondered if I should be jealous of the food for doing that to you. And right now, your daughter is putting on quite a show for your poor lab intern. Going off of the girl's rising heart pace, I'd say she's ten seconds from combusting."

"You are the worst," Lena muttered. "I knew I shouldn't have dragged you along, and she's your daughter too..." the words slipped and Lena felt herself take in a sharp inhale. She wasn't sure why it still occurred to her to think Kara was going to reject Arryn; Kara had already told her Arryn was beautiful. She supposed some part of her still feared Kara would take her words back.

"My kid would know what pizza is," Kara replied playfully. "But she is really oblivious so I suppose I can't remain in denial. Oh… take a look."

Lena glanced towards Arryn's table and saw Liara tenderly wiping off some sauce from Arryn's chin. Even without superpowers, Lena could see the faint blush on her daughter's cheeks and her slightly astonished expressions.

"Now her heart is beating just as fast," Kara chuckled. "Rao, I remember this one time you used your thumb to swipe some icing from my bottom lip only to slowly put it in your mouth; it was only our second date but you used some pretty unfair moves. Safe to say I went home with you that night."

Kara lifted her hand to brush her thumb against Lena's lower lip

"I could definitely repay the favor now," Kara said as she leaned in, parting Lena's lips before taking them with her own. Her kiss was firm against Lena's soft lips and one of her hands gave her thigh a slight squeeze. Lena felt an immediate ache at Kara's touch and thought she might forget where they were if Kara made her feel anything more.

"Kara," Lena murmured when the blonde pulled away, "you're going to be the death of-Arryn!"

Kara's brows knit together; that wasn't the reaction she had been hoping to incite. However, after registering Lena's wide eyes and the way her gaze shifted slightly up, she realized their cover had been blown. She slowly turned to find Arryn standing at the edge of their booth with a relieved expression.

"Ummm hey kiddo, what can we do for you?" Kara asked with ease.

"I thought… you were in trouble." Arryn sighed, "your heart was racing and it was so loud, and I _thought_ you were still at the office or at home, so it shouldn't have been that loud unless you were in trouble. But you're here… did you… follow me?"

"Follow? You?" Lena made a weird raspberry sound, "never. We just… Kara wanted ummm her favorite pizza. It's by coincidence you're here too!"

Arryn eyed her mother warily.

"How is it going anyways… your date?" Kara asked. "Looks like she's expecting you to go back."

"Date? I knew food outing were dates! Our date is going by splendidly."

Kara chuckled, "if food outings were dates, Lena and I would have been dating for much longer."

"Mother did say you were rather oblivious to your feelings; she never mentioned dating though. So are dates only for people who mate for life?"

Kara chuckled, "sounds like Lena raised you the Kryptonian way. Dates are for people who like each other as more than friends… potential mates." Kara added at the end to make it easier for Arryn to understand. She remembered how frustrated Alex was when trying to explain to Kara 'human mating rituals'. Compared to Krypton, the citizens of Earth had a much more haphazard system in place, and it didn't necessarily make sense to the young Kryptonian. It wasn't until she met Lena that dating started feeling natural.

"So…" a blush crept up Arryn's neck, "Liara is a potential mate? For me? But I'm..." _not even human.. _She bit her lip and refrained from saying that last part.

"The result of really hot genes," Kara finished her sentence for her with a smirk, "so go knock her dead."

Arryn's brows furrowed as she stood appalled by Kara's words. "I would never; between you commenting on my chewing," she pointed at Lena, "and you telling me to murder her," she pointed at Kara, "I am very confused on this dating thing, so I am leaving and will figure it out myself."

Arryn stalked off in the direction she had come from and Kara chuckled.

"Rao now I know how Alex felt whenever I misunderstood colloquialisms." The blonde leaned back in the booth and sighed. "Looking back on everything, it's easy to see how misunderstood I was because I was from a planet so different. For instance… you were my first best friend; it sounds ridiculous but I had never had that kind of connection with anyone save for Alex, and even that was different. Other kids often saw me as weird, awkward or different. I know you think I was oblivious to my feelings for you, but the truth I was processing what humans usually experience in their teens, and grasping what it meant to love someone beyond platonic intentions."

"What made you take the leap from platonic to more?" Lena asked.

"It was gradual," Kara softly smiled as she recalled the process, but then decided it would be much more fun to tease Lena. "But there was this one day you wore this tiny little black dress, and your hair was down, your shoulders and clavicle exposed… and Rao your chest, it just hit me all at once, right between my legs." Kara wiggled her eyebrows at Lena.

"You are…"

"Adorable, the love of your life, insanely ripped," Kara offered, knowing full well that Lena's glare indicated a much less favorable descriptor.

"Incorrigible." Lena muttered.

Kara gave her a quick kiss on the cheek, "I'm sorry… I know I'm not what you're used to. There's no way Kara 'Cardigan' Danvers would have ever phrased it like that. She would be way cheesier and romantic and probably throw in all these flowery words. There would be way more stuttering and rambling sentences and accidental confessions, maybe even-mmpf!"

Lena's lips pressed bruisingly against hers and her hands tugged on her collar. This kiss was heated and even when Lena pulled away, her hands trailed down Kara's abs and rested on her hip and thigh. Kara opened her eyes only to find dark, green eyes pinning her in place.

Lena smirked and said, "you still ramble," and then she leaned in slowly to whisper in Kara's ear, "and I bet I can get you to stutter."

Kara's breath hitched when Lena nipped her ear. Quickly, and at the expense of the table, Kara threw down a fifty dollar bill and all but pulled Lena out of the booth. The Luthor giggled at her Kryptonian's excitement and followed her out into the brisk night.

"Let's go to the park," Lena insisted as she walked hand in hand with Kara just before the blonde could pull them into an alley.

Kara's eyes flew open, "y,y,you want to… in a park?" Her and Lena had done many things in many places, but nothing as public as a park. "I mean I can, we can, I mean, there are trees but…"

Lena smirked and raised her brow, "for a walk, Kara. I'd like your opinion on a few things before we go home."

"Oh… right, yes we can do that," Kara sighed.

"Also, you stuttered, quicker than I thought," Lena teased.

"I hate you," Kara groaned as she pulled Lena into her side and nuzzled her nose in her neck to hide her embarrassment.

"I doubt it," Lena quipped back and kissed the top of Kara's head.

* * *

"You alright, you seem a bit… perturbed?" Liara asked as she eyed Arryn from across the table.

"Oh sorry, no I'm fine," Arryn quickly relaxed her brow. "I'm just confused a little bit."

"What about? Maybe I can help," Liara offered with a small smile.

"Is this… or maybe I should ask, what is a date for you?"

Liara chuckled a bit but then noticed how grave Arryn's expression was and quickly cleared her throat. "Dates are chances to get to know each other as more than friends. Are you asking if this is a date?"

Arryn nodded slowly, afraid that she was coming off as dumb. "To be honest, I grew up kinda… sheltered. The outside world was somewhat toxic to...my family."

"Because you're related to a Luthor?" Liara asked.

"Sort of, I guess" She answered with Lex in mind. It wasn't because she was a Luthor, or related to one, but he had poisoned the air. "I haven't had the opportunity to make many friends, much less potential mates."

Liara giggled again, "sorry I'm not laughing at you, I promise. I just… I like the way you talk. Well, if you'd like we can be friends first, and then if you feel something more, then we can talk some more, yeah?" Liara asked as she laid her hand on Arryn's.

"I feel like I've solar-flared mid flight and I'm plummeting to the ground," Arryn confessed in a flurry of words and noted the confusion on Liara's face. "Like… like my stomach feels tingly… oh no, what if this pizza was infected with tiny, nanobots that are now running free in my stomach?" Arryn x-rayed her stomach and found no signs of such an infestation.

"Solar-flared? Nanobots? Wait, are you saying you feel like you have butterflies in your stomach?" Liara asked with a lilt of a smile.

"Butterflies…" Arryn vaguely recalled reading about butterflies; curious bugs with beautifully colored wings. Did such things often end up in human bellies on this earth? "Is that possible?" She asked Liara with mild horror.

Liara gave Arryn's hand a squeeze, "it is if you maybe like me."

"Oh Rao…" Arryn said in a hushed tone. Why had her mother taught her procreation and failed to mention the elaborate human ritual that was dating? It would have been nice knowing that she would have to take her potential mate on outings to eat food (which is why, she supposed, her mother in this time had been concerned about how much she could chew in one bite), and that if there was a connection, butterflies somehow ended up in your stomach.

"I really... need to go."

* * *

"I think I know how to help you overthrow Lex," Lena started as they walked along the parks dimly lit path. "But I need more info from both you and Arryn."

"You think there's something you know that future you doesn't know?" Kara asked skeptically.

"No, not quite, but I know I'm probably severely limited by resources in the future." Lena clarified, "right now I'm not confined underground or raising a toddler or fighting a war. However, I have two people who have lived that reality and can inform me while I have unlimited resources."

"Fair point, sorry if I sound skeptical… I just," Kara took a deep breath and exhaled, "it's hard to hope again."

Lena pulled Kara closer to her, "I know, and I know it's going to be hard talking about it… but I promise I can come up with something. Lex is smart, but he's also cocky; he'll have made mistakes. I… I was always told I was the weakest Luthor because of my kindness, which really isn't kindness… it's just me not being willing to crush everything in my path towards progress, and I know now… after meeting Arryn, that they were wrong. I know my will to protect those I love is greater than his will destroy it."

Kara stopped walking and pulled Lena into a gentle embrace. She savored Lena's scent and took comfort in the silkiness of her hair against her cheek. She loved how strong and calm her heartbeat pulsed and relished the way Lena's hands curled around her shoulders while her body flushed against her own. Lena was the strongest person she knew; in this time or her time, Lena never lost hope. That's why she was stronger than Supergirl would ever be; that's why she needed her.

"I love you, Lena Luthor."

Kara heard Lena's heart skip a beat and smiled.

"Let's go home," Lena murmured huskily as she placed a firm kiss on Kara's jaw.

* * *

Arryn had taken off with such suddenness that she half wondered where she was when she could no longer see the city lights. She hadn't meant to super speed as soon as she was out of sight, but the feeling in her stomach had spread to her fingers and she couldn't see any butterflies when she x-rayed her body. All in all, she at least felt like she could catch her breath out here in the middle of the stars and mountains.

She flew to the top of the mountain and found a ledge that would suit her needs. Once situated she let out a deep sigh and pulled out her phone. Two missed calls from Lena Luthor. She closed her eyes and laid back down on the dirt; she'd call back in a bit. She needed time to just decompress and figure out what was happening with her butterflies and heart pace, or maybe she just needed to distract herself completely.

She opened up her phone and her eyes trailed to the youtube app icon. That's right, she remembered she had wanted to look up videos that pertained to her mother. She had seen Supergirl's montages and even Superman's, but her mother had told her to maybe save her vids for another day. Technically today was another day and she needed a distraction, so she typed in Lena Luthor and pressed enter.

Thousands of videos pulled up, so Arryn just went with the one with the most views. Immediately she heard people chanting "lock her up" and "no such thing as a good Luthor", holding signs with just as much venom. The faces in the crowd were scrunched with anger, and then the camera panned to Lena. Arryn watched as she walked with her head high, stride confident but Arryn could see her tells. She could see how her green eyes wavered, how she searched the crowd and momentarily found peace before her hand trembled as she reached for the mic. Her voice started out kind of shaky, but grew stronger as she continued. Arryn's eyes flew open as gunshots broke through the chants and suddenly her mother was scrambling for cover. Her hand clenched the phone and she was glad it was Nth metal otherwise it would have been crushed.

She opened other videos and they contained similar scenarios. Her mother was always being called a killer, guilty of some crime or another, and so many people hated her. Arryn's jaw clenched and she could feel the burning hot lasers threatening to burst from her eyes. These humans took her mother for granted, blamed her for all their problems, and still she kept pouring her heart into helping them. The next video she opened the stage Lena had been standing up blew up and nearly killed her. Arryn threw her phone and shot a laser straight into the sky. She didn't understand.

"Arryn!"

The girl screamed in agony as her laser vision's output grew in power. She kept looking up, afraid to direct it elsewhere. Control was one of the first lessons her mother had drilled into her, but it had been the hardest. Her powers were amplified, far more potent than any Kryptonian in existence, and thus she had quite a bit of accidents growing up. Still, the amount of anger that rushed through her was overwhelming.

"Arryn!" She heard Kara's voice and then felt strong arms pull her into an embrace. "Calm down, shhh, you're alright."

Arryn cried as she attempted to close her eyes and stop her laser vision from acting up. She held onto the arms that held her and collapsed into Kara's embrace. She cried as her legs gave out and it was only thanks to Kara's support that she was still standing. Kara held the sobbing teen in her arms and smoothed her hair. She had asked Brainy to trace the phone after Lena had called her and received no answer twice. Once given the coordinates to some remote location outside of National City, Kara grew worried that she had been captured, but then she saw a beam of light and recognized the behavior.

As a child, whenever she was overwhelmed by fear, her laser vision would act up. Clark had once confided that his own laser vision would act up when he was overwhelmed by baser desires. She supposed every Kryptonian had a different trigger. She dropped her elevation and was flying straight towards Arryn when an object nearly collided with her head. She caught it and realized it was a phone. On the screen was an old video of Lena's press conference, and below that a history of other videos in which Lena was either nearly killed or defamed for being a Luthor.

"They hate her and she's… she's so good," Arryn whimpered and kept her eyes shut tight. "It's not fair; they don't deserve her."

"I know, I know," Kara murmured as she held Arryn close. "That's what makes her more of a hero than I'll ever be. No matter how badly she gets treated, she never stops trying to make this place a better world."

"I need to go back," Arryn sniffled and pulled away from Kara's embrace. "She's all alone."

"We'll go back together," Kara reassured the girl with a determined expression. "I promise, I will never abandon her or you again."

"And I hate the youtube," Arryn muttered as she eyed her phone in Kara's hand.

Kara chuckled, "it's always hard to sort the good and the bad out; here, why don't you look at these articles about Lena?" Kara quickly typed out something and then handed it to Arryn.

Arryn took the phone tentatively and scanned the articles. They were mostly from Catco magazine and nearly all of them had been written by none other than Kara Danvers. The young Kryptonian let out a wet laugh and rolled her eyes.

"How does the whole world not know that you're in love with her?"

"Hey they're not love letters! They're all steeped in facts."

"Riiiight… still I'm glad to know she's had you in her corner since the very beginning." Arryn smiled warmly at Kara but then squinted at a red smudge on Kara's jaw. "Ummm what is that?"

"What?" Kara lifted a thumb to where Arryn was pointing and recognized the tint as Lena's lipstick. "Oh, it's Lena's lipstick, we were… doing things."

"At the pizza place?"

"I wish, but no, we went home before you." Kara answered smugly.

"Oh so you didn't see what happened then?"

Her brow arched in question, "what do you mean? What happened?"

"I asked Liara about dates, and she told me we could be friends first and talk about being more if ever I felt like it."

"Well that was nice of her."

"But then I told her I felt like I had solar-flared mid air and was plummeting to the ground, or like small nanobots had infested my stomach-"

"Dear Rao," Kara sighed.

"Then she told me how humans develop butterflies in their stomach when they liked someone… I x-rayed my stomach but I could not see them. Are they impervious to my powers? Or have you never had to deal with that since no part of you is biologically human? Or perhaps it is an Earth thing and butterflies are hardwired to infest your stomach when you find your mate? I'm not sure…for all I know-"

"Slow down," Kara finally managed to cut in to Arryn's rambling. "It's just a saying."

"A saying?" Arryn repeated.

Kara sighed, "for growing up on Earth, you sure seem more like a lost Kryptonian. Didn't Lena give you books or let you watch movies?"

"I read lots of books; mostly technical or about space. As for vids… well I kind of kept away from them after that one incident." Arryn shrugged, "I trained more often than not… I was preparing for this. I didn't have time for butterflies."

Kara frowned and looked down at her hands; she had told Lena to get rid of Arryn the moment she had laid eyes on her. She was just a little face wrapped in a bundle of blankets, but the battle-scarred Kryptonian only saw a weapon. A weapon that would grow up to hate her and Lena for bringing her into a dark world. Kara's powers had waned due to Lex's interference with the sun, and with them her courage. Seeing Lena coo and smile at the babe had made her sick because all she could see was an abomination that she could neither nurture, protect… or control.

Yet here was that same babe, angered that her mother wasn't loved and appreciated the way she should be, confused by the term 'butterflies in her stomach', and determined to save Lena from a life of loneliness. Despite the fact that Arryn had grown up in a dark world, with Lena's love, she had more fight and hope in her than Kara had. She was full of less hate than Kara was.

"Before your mother," Kara started, "I didn't really know how it felt to like someone so much, but I watched a lot of Disney movies and rom coms." Kara chuckled softly and raised her eyes to meet Arryn's. "It always felt like my feelings were too much until I realized how much she needed them, and she loved me… all of me. And you're right, the butterflies are a luxury, but I'm really glad you had the chance to experience them." Her lower lip quivered before she spoke up again. "I'm sorry I wasn't there, I would have given you the proper Disney education and you would definitely know what pizza was… I would have been your mom too."

"But you were… in a way," Arryn took Kara's hand.

"Being a DNA donor isn't exactly the same," Kara murmured.

"No," Arryn shook her head, "you did help raise me. I can show you." She rescinded her hand to pull out her metal, cube necklace and whispered out "Kara Danvers."

Images flooded around the two Kryptonians and Kara's jaw fell open. It was… her, but not her. She was holding a baby in some pictures, a toddler in others, and Lena… her Lena. She could tell it was her Lena because of the extra muscle she gained once she gave herself powers, and the small scar on her cheek that never fully healed after one of their spats with Lex's supermen. She was smiling and kissing and leaning into a younger, brighter Kara. They looked like an odd but happy and beautiful family.

The family she had abandoned when she decided to fear Lena.

_But wait a second… isn't that? _Kara squinted as she zoomed in on a few of the pictures.

"I think… I would have grown on you," Arryn murmured and interrupted Kara's observations..

"I think so too, runt. You were a flying baby, how cool is that?" She responded playfully.

Arryn laughed as she wiped the tears that had collected at the corners of her eyes. She was about to retort when she picked up on a distant voice.

_Arryn! Kara! Help!_

One shared look with Kara, and they both took flight to Kara's apartment. Arryn arrived first, blasting through the window without care, and though she charged at the familiar markings of a portal, Lena had already been pulled through entirely as it neared closure. Arryn pushed her hand through, but was roughly pulled back before it could be severed.

"NO!" Arryn shouted as she struggled to break free from the arms that held her. "No, no, no! He's got her, he can't have her. He'll kill her!"

Kara grunted as she held the youth from causing more damage. "Calm down for a sec!"

"Calm down?" Arryn spat. "You… why are you so fluffing calm?"

Kara rolled her eyes at the term, but decided now was not the time to pry into how exactly Arryn got into the habit of saying that. "I think she was supposed to go."

"Like hell; maybe you're used to just rolling with losses, but I. AM. NOT."

"Play your pics again, the ones of Kara and you and your moms."

"Moms?" Arryn stopped struggling as much and pulled out her necklace. Quickly she fumbled, unlocked it and scanned the pictures only to nearly choke on the air she was breathing out of sheer shock. Supergirl had been right… she hadn't noticed before, but the pictures included pictures of her mother from her time and one's of Lena from this time. "Oh Rao… she… but," Arryn's voice trembled. "How can we be sure?"

"They haven't disappeared, she's still in the pics isn't she?" Kara voiced aloud and held Arryn's hand. "She'll be ok."

* * *

"I need to go out, there's been another rip!" Lena shouts as she puts her uniform on. "This one is the same kind that opened when you arrived."

"I'll come with!" Kara speeds to Lena's side.

"No, the air is too volatile for you and I need you to watch Arryn."

"But Lena, what if-"

"No time, darling," Lena gives her a quick kiss on the lips before speeding down a tunnel that Kara can only assume leads to the outside.

Kara groans and runs to Lena's security console to try and follow her movements as much as possible. She sits on the chair and watches the various screens, anxiously searching for any signs of Lena. She worries her inner cheek as the cameras show nothing but still screens. She paces to and fro as minutes pass by until she can't take it anymore. For all she knows, Lex's supermen had captured Lena and were hurting her. She runs towards the same hall, but skids to a stop when she sees Lena approaching, and she's holding something...someone.

"Lena?" Kara gasps and rushes to take the unconscious woman from the masked Lena's arms. "Oh Rao, is she ok?"

Lena hands her past self over, lowers her helmet and removes her uniform with the press of a button. "She'll be fine; saved her from one of Lex's supermen."

Lena watches as Kara tenderly brushes strands of hair away from the unconscious woman's face. She smiles warmly and leads Kara back down the hall.

"Also, did you just change with the press of a button?" Kara asks. "That seems super useful."

"You have no idea; I also put one on your suit. It was especially helpful when we," Lena smirks as she gives Kara a knowing look, "you know."

"Oh...Oh!" Kara blushes as she puts Lena down on their bed.

"I'll give you two a moment," Lena states and quickly turns only to feel a sudden tug on her wrist.

"Lena… stay." Kara pleads

Lena's jaw tightens as her throat clenches; she's trying her best not to betray her emotions. When she had gone out to figure out why Lex had ripped yet another hole into the fabric of space and time, she hadn't expected to see a younger, much more human version of herself wielding a pipe to defend herself from one of Lex's supermen. She had momentarily wondered how her past self was even holding her ground, but then she realized a faint glow emanating from one of her bracelets-she had armed herself with… Kryptonite?

She regrets having to knock her younger self out after she had bested Lex's pawn, but the last thing she needs is another Luthor running around with Kryptonite. Thankfully Kryptonite didn't have the same effect on her and she was able to render the younger Lena unconscious without much of a scuffle. Before coming back to the bunk, Lena had deactivated the younger's bracelet, returning it to a somewhat dull, lead piece of jewelry.

She looks back at Kara, uncertain of where to land her gaze.

"Sorry, it's just a bit weird," Lena confesses as her gaze wanders to the sleeping woman. "That's no doubt, Lena from your time… your Lena."

"All Lena's are my Lena's," Kara says in defiance with a pout.

Lena chuckles and places a chaste kiss on Kara's lips. "You can't deny missing her."

"Well of course I missed her, but… I don't want you to just, I don't know, feel replaced." Kara speaks softly as she caresses Lena's cheek, noting the faint scar.

"I…" Lena thinks to make an excuse, but only ends up smiling wide into Kara's hand. "I forget sometimes how easily you see through my masks. But I know my younger self will be somewhat disturbed seeing you with me."

"But you said it wasn't cheating," Kara meeps.

"And it isn't," Lena reassures her and kisses her palm, "however, she's probably been worried sick about you and lonely. And I was really insecure at the beginning..."

Just then, the younger Luthor groans as she rolls onto her back and blinks her eyes open. Her head throbs lightly and when she looks up to see herself and Kara standing dangerously close together, she imagines she's having an out of body experience. She struggles to sit up and Kara is by her in a flash, pushing her back down gently. Lena startles at the contact but finds comfort in Kara's blue eyes; they're light and gentle and...they belong to her Kara.

"Kara?" Lena whispers; her throat is sore from the fight.

"Lena!" Kara smiles and goes in for a kiss, but stops when she sees Lena rescind from the motion. "Oh, sorry I just...umm, are you ok?"

"Yeah sorry, it's just weird being watched by a more toned, older version of myself."

Future Lena raises her brow and smirks as she approaches the bedside. "I almost forgot how soft I looked as a human."

"Excuse me, soft?" Lena arches her brow in defense and leers at her future self. "Sorry I haven't doped up on Harun-el yet."

Kara tenses at the minor conflict but relaxes when she hears future Lena laugh.

"Glad to know not even these circumstances can shake up my fiery retorts. Welcome to the future by the way."

"Of course I'm in the future," Lena chuckles and eyes her future self up and down. "It's definitely less of a mystery how you were able to raise a super baby."

A soft cry from the other room emits and future Lena is quick to respond. She returns with a small two year old that looks groggy with sleep. The small child rubs her eyes before looking around the room and smiling.

"Down!" She commands as she squirms in elder Lena's arms.

"Ok, ok, but no running, and," she places Arryn down on the floor, "be gentle, Arryn."

Despite Lena's instructions, the small girl's legs are eagerly running forward towards the bed as she giggles uncontrollably. Past Lena sits up in anticipation and assumes the small child will just jump up on the bed even though it seems rather high. Instead Arryn smashes face first and falls backwards on her bum.

Lena scrambles to the side of the bed, "oh god, are you ok?"

"Kay!" Arryn shouts happily and raises her arms. "Up, peas."

Lena leans forward to pick up the small girl and finds that she weighs no more than what she'd expect of a 3 year old. The girl giggles more as she pats Lena's face and nestles into the crevice of her neck and shoulders. She holds the child and laughs when she comes out from under her chin and places a kiss on her cheek.

"Ehwyn," the girl says.

"Oh I know you Arryn," Lena responds warmly and kisses the girl on her forehead. "Granted I know a much taller version of you."

"Mama?" The girl asks and points at Lena.

"Oh… well…" Lena glances to her future self who simply nods. "Yes I suppose in a way I am." Lena cups the girls cheeks, "you're so cute like this!"

"Cooooot!" Arryn responds enthusiastically and claps her hands much to Lena's delight. "Ahwyn cooot! Mama cooot!" She giggles as the adults laugh.

"You definitely hold her a lot better than I did at first," the elder Lena comments more to herself than to anyone in the room.

"I do?" Lena arches a brow and blushes a bit at the compliment. She knows its genuine because she's never been the type for flattery.

Future Lena nods and shrugs, "I'm guessing Arryn grew on you quickly? The older version?"

"Yeah, she… well she's an easy kid to love. Speaking of, I probably shouldn't have left her alone on that date…"

"She's on a date?!" Both Kara and Lena raise their voices.

"Oh, um, yes?" Lena winces feeling like she's done something wrong.

Lena smiles wide, "no, please… tell me more; I hoped she would explore the world as it used to be, but I never imagined she'd get to experience that."

"Wait, wait, wait, so you're telling me Arryn was stabbed with a kryptonite spear and then you… you let her go on a date?" Kara intercedes.

"She recovered quickly…" Lena says, holding baby Arryn, noting her smooth baby skin and shudders at the memory of all Arryn's scars. "The kryptonite in the future is much more potent. I also didn't want to tell her not to go on the date… though I don't think she realized that's what she was going on to begin with."

"Oh Rao did she inherit Kara's obliviousness?"

Lena nods and future Lena sighs while Kara just scoffs. "I am not _that _bad."

Both Lena's roll their eyes. "You are."

"Then again, I probably wouldn't tell her about dating… it's kinda useless considering we live underground and we can't interact with other humans," elder Lena concludes remorsefully. "I'm glad she's having some fun."

"Mimi!" Arryn shouts and squirms to turn around and reach out to Kara.

Kara happily picks her up.

"Mimi?" Lena asks.

Kara nods as Arryn plays with her hair, "it's her version of mommy; isn't she adorable?"

"She is…" Lena murmurs and then looks up at her elder self. She tries to imagine herself in the position that she's in. Raising a child that needs to be strong enough to save a whole world, kind enough to let others love her and love them in return, and wise enough to know that she can't get everything right. In some ways Arryn was still scared, carried the same emotional baggage that she had as an adopted child in the Luthor household, but Arryn was also stronger. "Amazing. You really did a great job raising her."

Lena's breath hitches, "that's good to know… can't say it hasn't crossed my mind that I royally fucked up somewhere down the line."

"Language!" Kara whisper yells and covers Arryn's ears. "And you could never royally fluff up!"

Future Lena bursts out laughing and takes a seat by her past self. She wonders how she's holding up, how weird it must be to see a future like this. She remembers how hard it was for her to even imagine Kara could ever love her back. To suddenly be dragged into a situation where she's not only married to Kara, but she's fighting alongside her and they have a super baby—she imagines it's quite a lot even for a Luthor's mind to handle. She can tell how tense the younger girl's body is by the way her shoulders are pulled back as she sits up against the bed's headboard.

"It's strange to have so much company," Future Lena states in a forlorn tone. "I hope you aren't burning out your brain trying to wrap yourself around everything."

Lena sighs, "it can't be helped… time travel, powers, an engineered baby, I never foresaw any of this in my future. And you… you're doing this all on your own."

"So Arryn informed you about…"

Lena nods and withholds the fact that the Kara from the future had been her constant companion the last few days. The rips in time were always from this point in the future; somehow her and Kara had been pulled to the same point in a timeline that was already set. Only one breach had been different… the one Arryn had pulled Supergirl through. The rest had been due to Lex.

"That I died," Kara sighs and glances at Lena with a worried brow.

Lena nods slowly, "yes, she was afraid to tell me, but she had to. We won't let that happen, I promise you." She looks to her future self with a piercing green gaze. "I will not let Lex destroy your happiness."

* * *

Kara leaned against the white walls of Lena Luthor's penthouse and sighed as she waited for Arryn to find whatever it was she was looking for. She said it was a journal from the future that somehow plopped into the past, but more importantly it had been a gift from Kara. There could be clues, she said, but Supergirl had her doubts.

It was while she was doubting that a familiar voice at Lena's door beckoned her attention.

"Lena, are you home?" James called out and knocked on the door.

Kara gave herself a small push off the wall and went to open the door. Since returning she hadn't seen anyone aside from Lena, Arryn, Alex, Brainy and occasionally J'onn. It was at her request that she not see any more faces than necessary, and thus James had been put on indefinite leave from the DEO. She imagined he was feeling confused and bewildered at suddenly being left in the dark, but saw no point in avoiding him any longer.

She opened the door and kept a stern expression as James squinted his eyes in confusion.

"Kara?" He asked, taking a step back to take in the woman before him.

"Hey James," Kara greeted with a small smile.

"Umm hey, you look," he noted her cool stance and crossed arms, "different."

Kara chuckled and shrugged, "what can I do for you?"

"I was looking for Lena."

"Oh?" Kara perked her brow, "need something from the boss?"

James shook his head, "no, but she's been avoiding me or something, and I wanted to take her out for dinner."

Kara felt herself involuntary bristle but shook it off. She was so used to Lena being hers that she had completely forgotten what it felt like to not have a monopoly on her affections.

"Oh it's you! Tall, dark and handsome," Arryn greeted James in her own manner as she walked into the room with a small journal in hand.

"Hey Arryn, long time no see… have you seen Lena? She hasn't been home in awhile… I've tried calling, but she seems to always be out."

"Eh, well you see… she-" Arryn began.

"Are you two… dating?" Kara interrupted. Lena hadn't told her she was involved with James, but between training with Arryn and dealing with their future dilemma, she hadn't really given Lena a chance to be anything but accommodating to her needs.

"Yeah, you know that…" James said gruffly.

"Right, hmmm, how do I put this?" Kara sighed and dropped her crossed arms. "She's my wife."

"Excuse me... _what_?" James furrowed his brow.

"In the future, I mean… you can obviously tell I'm not the Kara from this time." Kara raised her left hand and showed her Nth metal band. "It's been chaotic so I'm guessing Lena hasn't had time to explain."

"So this whole time…" James lowered his head and placed his hands on his hips to ground himself. "Well I guess that saves me an awkward conversation."

"What do you mean?" Kara asked.

"Well there are only so many dates you can go on and converse about your "best friend" before it becomes super obvious that it's more than admiration and respect." James chuckled and rolled his shoulders, "also… you not only look like Lena… but also Kara." He eyed Arryn. "I'm taking it you're not a distant relative."

Arryn smiled sheepishly, "guilty… sorry I lied; I kinda just sprung on mother and put her in an awkward position."

"It's alright kid, but hey it's nice to meet you, and you too future Kara." James smiled warmly but then asked, "so where are Lena and Kara?"

Kara and Arryn shared a look; they were going to need all the help they could get in bringing Lena and Kara home

* * *

"So… does that happen often?" Kara asked Arryn as they sat in her living room with several boxes of pizza and potstickers, Kara's new marker board on wheels before them.

"What?" Arryn asked as she sifted through her journal.

"Your laser vision," Kara clarified.

Arryn paused and lowered her journal as she looked up at the ceiling. "It's not just my laser vision. When I was small, it was really hard to control any of my powers. I would set things on fire, crash through walls, start a mini blizzard. Mother created simulations that helped me…but it was meditation that really helped."

"What were you feeling when you were on that mountain?"

Arryn closed her eyes and let the videos play in her head, but this time she detached herself from her initial emotions. She felt protective of her mother, angry at the citizen's mob mindset and scared… scared because her mother wasn't invincible. She was human; she was frail… yet she never stopped giving speeches or aiding Supergirl. Arryn had to accept that all of these experiences made her mother into the woman she would eventually become. Still, the emotion that had caused her to lose control was one she wasn't too familiar with. It felt hot, relentless and… all-consuming.

"I wanted…" Arryn clenched her jaw. She wasn't a hero like her mother. "I wanted to burn them all down, I think."

"Hmmm," Kara hummed and leaned back on the couch. "Does that scare you?"

"More than anything," Arryn whispered. "Life always seemed simple to me. Protect Mother, complete my mission, defeat Lex. Back in our world, topside isn't so complicated. Kill the supermen, gather tech, train… such simple routines. And mother and Arthur were my only companions. Here, in this world, there's so much more to consider… it's overwhelming and I'm not sure I understand it all. I just want to protect what I love… and I don't love humanity."

"Not yet," Kara added after a moment of silence. "You haven't gotten the chance to grow up in a world full of people. It also took me some time to love this world and its people. As a kid, my laser vision would go off whenever I was frightened. It took me a long time to figure out what it meant to be a hero."

"I don't think I'm meant to be a hero," Arryn admitted and stood to add something to the marker board. "Can I tell you something?"

"Of course," Kara responded and followed Arryn with her curious blue gaze.

"The more time I spend here, the more I realize I'm not human and I'm also not Kryptonian. Sometimes I feel…" Arryn wrapped her arms around herself and squeezed, "like a monster. There were nights that mother had to keep me in the green room because I would black out and go into a frenzy. She said it was because I hadn't stabilized… but sometimes I feel that same darkness inside me… pulsing, waiting for its turn. Mother said you were frightened of what I would become… I-"

"I was wrong." Kara stated and stood by Arryn. "You may not by Kryptonian or human, but you are without a doubt a product of love. I was afraid you would hate us for bringing you into that world." Kara chuckled, "sadly I became that which I feared the most. If you hadn't pulled me into that portal, I would have died because of my fatal mindset. You saved me."

"I saved you…" Arryn repeated and a familiar crinkle on her brow became eminent. "I pulled you through a portal… a random portal that just appeared out of the blue, Rao… I think I've got it!" She twirled and smiled wide at Kara. "I know what we have to do! Usually when there was a rip in time it was Lex sending one of his goons after us. The first time I was impaled and Cardigan went through the portal."

Kara snickered at Arryn's reference to her past self, but cleared her throat to signal the youth to continue.

"The second was in mother's apartment, but it was quick, and the third was when they took mother. But there was one time when it just opened and I found you surrounded by Lex's supermen… that wasn't Lex."

"So it was Lena?"

Arryn shook her head, "mother did not have the resources to make such a device at the time; it took her years to build anything akin to whatever Lex is using."

"Well if it wasn't Lena or Lex then who?" Kara crossed her arms.

"I think… I think it was me. I have the resources; I just need…" Arryn glanced down at her journal, "the knowledge."


	8. Chapter 8

PLEASE NOTE: This was the chapter I had posted before as chapter 7, but it should have been chapter 8. So sorry for all the confusion! If you've already read this, please go back one and read the new chapter 7. It'll hopefully clear up a lot of confusion. Thanks!

A/N: I'm back! And sorry for the long wait! I haven't abandoned the story; I've just been crazy busy with this virus. Anywho, thanks to those who kept pushing for another chapter. I do read your comments, and they are a great source of encouragement (even when all the energy has seemingly left my body and mind). It's a bit short, but it does get a bit spicy.

**Chapter 8: Lull in Time**

At Lena's insistence the blood transfusion takes place sooner rather than later; she had asked Kara why she had let future Lena put it off, and her rambling Kryptonian couldn't provide a substantial answer. In fact, when Lena asked what exactly they did with all their time, she tried not to read into her raging blush. When she had asked her future self, the woman brushed her off, but Lena was relentless in her pursuit of reason, and if there was anyone she could crack, it would be herself.

"I was monitoring Arryn's kryptonite absorption," her elder self finally mutters as she paces about her lab, tinkering with various pieces of equipment.

"Her absorption? But everyday you forewent the transfusion…"

"We were dying," the older woman finishes for her. "In Arryn's case, her growth was accelerating… in mine, well..." Lena opens a box and a green glow emits.

Quickly the younger Lena lunges forward and slams the lid down. "Are you crazy?"

Lena chuckles and pulls the box away from her frantic, younger self. "Observe for a moment, will you?" She opens the box again and picks up the rock. It glows ominously but aside from that it doesn't seem to have any effect on the woman holding it. "This is originally from Krypton so it's output is nothing like the stuff Lex manufactures. My immunity since injecting myself with Supergirl's polluted blood has increased tenfold. It grew daily in a sense; every cell that was able to stave off the degradation of the poisoned blood was multiplied." She sighs and puts the rock back in its box, "I wanted to give us our best chance."

Lena watches her future self put the box away and can't help but think back to Arryn's scars.

"Your best chance at what?" Lena asks.

Her future self turns slowly and leans to sit on one of her lab tables. She knows why she's asking all these questions, but she also knows she won't like the answer.

"Survival," future Lena begins, "this world is designed to kill her and me. I… I have to make sure she's able to survive everything Lex has put in place to eliminate her. Supergirl wasn't wrong in her accusations. I will teach her how to fight; she will be stronger than Supergirl or any Kryptonian ever… but I still love her. That will never change. She was wrong in thinking that Arryn was an abomination… if anything, I am the only one monstrous enough to be able to do this… to create life, love it with all my heart and drag it through the hell that my brother has created. I am the abomination."

Lena gulps as her future self looks at her with a calm and steady gaze; she can feel her own lip quiver. She couldn't count the number of times she thought the absolute worst of herself; she was often halfway through a bottle of whiskey and teary eyed, however.

This admission is different. Her future self isn't telling herself she's an abomination out of self-pity; she's telling it to her like it's an immutable fact. She wants to reach out and tell her that it's not true… that there's a noble end to her means, but she knows it won't be enough. So instead she takes future Lena's hand and gives it a tight squeeze while letting out a shaky breath.

"It might not be any consolation but… Arryn really loves you."

She sees the metal in future Lena's gaze soften, but she blinks away the wetness before it can collect.

"The poor girl made me breakfast and the first thought I had was if it was poisoned or not." Lena cringes at her own words. "I also… well, I don't want to tell you too much about your future daughter, but I have seen her… scars."

Future Lena tries to pull her hand away but her past self is holding on firmly.

"She doesn't talk about them, but she's also never looked at me like I'm a monster. I believe you when you say this world is harsh and that you're going to ensure Arryn survives it; I want you to know, no matter what, she's still a product of love. In fact, the meanest thing she's said about you is that when she's gotten in trouble you've sent her to bed without a goodnight kiss."

Future Lena lets out a wet laugh as she fights back a sob. "That actually sounds quite evil."

"My point is, you may have dragged her into a world gone straight to hell, but she had no shortage of love… and she's strong. Can I ask you something?"

Future Lena nods.

"What drives you? Other than survival I mean."

Future Lena wears a gentle but sad smile. She shuffles in closer to her past self and takes a deep breath. "I asked myself that everyday, even when Kara was still with me. At first it was simply about ending Lex's reign, but then… Kara, she…" Lena's voice breaks as a tear slides down her cheek. "She changed. I couldn't bring her back from the darkness that surrounded her; after awhile, all that was left of her was Supergirl. I had hoped that Arryn would bring back some of her lost light, but I should have known better. I didn't bring Arryn into this world to save it… I did it to save her." Lena looks down at her intertwined hand and sighs, "now all I can do is to not lose Arryn the way I lost her."

"You… you don't want to try saving Supergirl?"

Future Lena's sad smile turns into a deep and stern frown, "you can't save someone who's already dead; time travel is like a balanced equation… there are some rules that can never be broken."

"I see," the younger Lena chews on her bottom lip momentarily as she processes the information. Her future self's drive to not lose Arryn to the darkness was probably one of the main factors that led to Arryn becoming the person she would. Telling her future self about Supergirl's survival would only deter her from that. Plus, thought Lena, eventually she would find out; her directive to Arryn via the journal was clear-save her, save us all. Somewhere along the timeline, Lena would discover that Supergirl didn't perish that fateful day, but that day wasn't today.

"One thing is clear; I do not have the resources to create a time traveling device and the main element to energize it is increasingly finite… by our count alone Lex has initiated time travel at least three times; I doubt he has much more to spare" future Lena starts. "We need to steal Lex's time traveling device and zionium, and I'll need your help the most."

* * *

Kara sits still in Arryn's nursery; she glances around the room and shakes her head at the equipment that surrounds Arryn's crib. They're Lena's creations, meant to strengthen and focus Arryn's abilities… not really what Kara would consider toys. Even the pictures hung in Arryn's room are technical charts; aside from the mobile of a galaxy above her tiny bed, nothing else emulates childhood.

She knows Lena has gone to hound future Lena with questions, and she also knows they're probably in the lab. The lab is the one room that she can't listen in on. Future Lena had explained that it was necessary when raising a super-powered baby; that and lead infused glasses like the ones Jeremiah made for her. Having super hearing and a toddler who could belt out destructive sound waves was not exactly the best combo.

She looks at the star map on Arryn's wall and smiles forlornly as she recognizes the quadrant this particular map has laid out-it's her home; it's Krypton. In the few days that she's been with Lena, she's heard Kryptonian phrases and terms of endearment slip past her lips with the fluidity and pronunciation of a born and raised Kryptonian. Her core vibrates with pride as she looks down at Arryn; she had always wanted to share more of her home planet with those she loved. Clearly Lena had embraced that desire.

"Hey," a soft voice interrupts her thoughts.

She glances back and sees Lena smiling softly at her.

"Hi," Kara murmurs back, her insides melting at the sight of Lena in a lab coat.

"I was wondering if we could speak for a bit, in private? The buffer version of myself said she'd be waiting for us in the lab until we were done."

"Oh, sure," Kara accepts eagerly. "Let's go to the simulation room."

Lena nods and follows Kara out into the hall towards another door that empties out into what seems like a large, vacant room.

"Check this out," Kara smirks and pushes a few buttons on a panel near the entrance.

Suddenly the room morphs and Lena's jaw drops as she stands at the entrance to Kara's apartment. She sees Kara timidly offering her hand and accepts only to be pulled into the familiar space. She reaches out to touch Kara's kitchen island and raised her eyebrows when she meets a firm surface under her palm.

"It's real?"

Kara smiles wide, "kinda, it's a bunch of nanobots; they help Lena pretty much with everything."

"Amazing," Lena says as she places both palms on the island and lifts her feet off just to test the sturdiness.

The Luthor is so focused on the science before her that she doesn't take notice of Kara until she feels her press against her back and wrap her arms around her waist. Kara takes in Lena's familiar scent as she buries her face into the crook of Lena's neck. Her hold is gentle because she knows her Lena does not have super powers and is still very fragile.

"I missed you," Kara whispers partially because she feels a tad bit guilty, but mostly because her lips are right by Lena's ear.

Lena easily falls into Kara's embrace and her heart flutters with how tender her hold feels. She knows future Kara loves her, but her hold is different, stronger… a hold, no doubt, meant for the Harun-el powered version of herself. She knows, one day, Kara will hold her differently because together they'll learn and grow as lovers. Speaking of which, she remembers why she wanted to talk to Kara in the first place.

"I missed you too," Lena responds and gasps when she feels soft lips press gently on the underside of her jaw.

Kara pulls back, "sorry I know we only got to kiss once before I plunged head first into the future."

"I'm guessing my future self informed you where I like to be kissed," Lena teases but can tell Kara feels weird about it by the way she ducks her head and places a chaste kiss on her shoulder.

"Are you mad? I'd understand if you were.. It's just… all Lena's are my Lena's."

Lena chuckles; somehow, even though they're so different, her Kara and future Kara share the same beliefs. She turns around so that she's face to face with the bashful kryptonian and pulls her into a searing kiss.

"I'm not mad," she murmurs as she pulls away slowly. "I feel the same way…. All Kara's are mine as well. That's actually why I wanted to talk to you. You see, while you were pulled to this future, me and Arryn had a visitor."

"A visitor?" Kara lifts her eyebrows. "Who?"

"Well… you… future you that is." Lena bites her lip and scans Kara's face for a reaction. She looks confused and tilts her head to the side.

"But… I thought future me was dead?" Kara says unsure of herself.

"Not quite, Arryn pulled her through a portal before Lex's supermen could finish her off. I've spent the last two weeks with her."

Kara pulls back and shakes her head softly. "But that doesn't make sense… if I'm alive, why haven't I come back home?"

Lena sighs, "time travel is messy. I think she would have if she could have, but I do think there's a way to send her back to the future that Arryn was sent from."

Kara remains silent as she takes in this new information. She worries the inside of her cheek and Lena knows what she's pondering.

"Kara… we can't tell her. We need her to believe Supergirl is dead."

Kara's lips turn into a deep frown and her eyes mist over with sadness. "But… she's… she's so alone."

"I know," Lena cups Kara's face and pulls her back towards her. "But she's not alone. She has Arryn. Remember how I once told you loss does strange things to my family?"

Kara nods.

"After talking to future me, it's apparent that the loss of Supergirl influences how she raises Arryn. It's important that she continues down her path."

"Hmmm," Kara hums and then looks down at Lena; she trusted her and her judgement. If Lena thought it was best, it was because she had already given it immense thought. "So… what's she like?"

Momentarily, Lena thinks back to how Supergirl literally choked her against a wall upon first meeting; how cold and distant she had seemed right before she broke down at the park; how she immediately started a fight with Arryn. Then her mind recalls how firmly Supergirl had pushed her up against a wall in a completely different way, with Lena's legs spread and wrapped around her waist; how her steel, blue gaze melted whenever she chanced a smile at her; the moment Supergirl realized Arryn was more than a weapon.

"She's complicated," Lena starts and rubs her neck, "she wasn't sure I was real at first. She's a lot more… rough-"

"Rough?" Kara gulped. "Did she hurt you? W...w,w,what were you doing with her? Rough in what way?"

"Rough around the edges," Lena explains in an effort to soothe her kryptonian. "But… I won't lie to you Kara, we did do things that me and you haven't done yet."

Kara's cheeks instantly show a rosy pink as she murmurs out, "me too… with future Lena."

Lena chuckles and shakes her head, "we have such an unorthodox romance."

Kara's eyes flutter before catching her gaze and Lena can't help but smile at the unabashed adoration that pours from the kryptonian's gaze. She rests her forehead on Kara's and wraps her arms around her neck. She wants to stand still in this moment and savor the realization that she's found someone who loves her wholly and unconditionally-something the Luthor had considered an impossibility.

"So… I know this is a dumb question, but have you told James?" Kara asks.

James…. Shit, Lena had forgotten all about James between caring for Arryn and dealing with an angsty, future Kara.

"I... kind of forgot about James," Lena admits.

"Oh… so he just… does future me know you're even dating James?"

"I don't think I ever mentioned it to her; she kind of just came crashing into my life and Arryn's and," Lena sighs and her shoulders roll back, "and everything was just so intense that I literally forgot to break up with James."

"Wow so you and future me… were you guys always," Kara shifts uneasily as she pulls away to look at Lena, "doing _it._"

Lena raised a brow, "it? You mean having sex?"

Kara nods quickly.

Lena frowns because Kara looks scared. "Kara… are you ok?"

"It's just… what if you don't feel the same about… well me? Future me, from both your and future Lena's accounts, seems more aggressive and assertive."

Lena cups Kara's cheek, "and did future me complain about the softer version that you are?"

Kara shakes her head but casts her gaze down, "well no but, she's just happy I'm alive in some form. I'm not sure if I'll ever be-" Kara inhales sharply when Lena moves her hand and places it in a rather risque spot on her inner thigh. She hears Lena's heart rate pick up and feels soft lips peck at the corner of her mouth.

"I fell in love with you," Lena reminds her and whimpers when Kara gently strokes her sensitive skin. "Even if all Kara's are mine, you are more than that; you're the one that I share memories with, that I'll build a future with… the one I belong with. Please don't doubt that."

Kara's resounding hum turns into a low growl as she bends slightly to kiss Lena's pressure point on her neck. She kisses harder and uses her tongue to elicit a fuller whimper from Lena. Her hands are busy spreading Lena's legs apart as she pushes her onto the kitchen island. The more sounds Lena makes, the more Kara realizes how unique they are to her. She knows this because each of Lena's mewls and moans are new and intoxicating to the kryptonian's hyper senses. She basks in feeling Lena's hands grip the sides of her neck and slide into her hair to pull her lips onto hers. Lena's kisses are soft yet their intensity builds as Kara grows bolder.

"Kara," Lena moans her name against her lips and Kara feels heat instantly pool between her legs.

Kara's thumbs massage closer to Lena's center and taunt the crevice of her thighs and center. She can feel the heat emanating from Lena's core and nearly buckles her knees when she feels Lena slide her hands down her arms and attempt to pull her hand to where she most needed friction.

They look into each other's eyes and drown in the color they've come to love most.


End file.
